Deluge of Blogs on Hawker Food

[phouse3]

In recent years, I see many blogs promoting hawker food. Fortunately, most just stick to straight reviews. However, there are a few philistines. One blogger complained to the TV media that it should not "glamourised" cheap hawker food which will lead to lower quality of food as hawkers will be competing on price alone.

1. In reality, $2 or $3 food sold by hawkers happy with a subsisting income are actually more delicious and of higher quality than the expensive ones dish out by neo hawker-entrepreneurs, and on an overwhelming lopsided scale! In reality, low-risk low-returns pricing is a business decision as hawking has always been extremely competitive. The hawkers are smarter and have more commonsense.

2. I also see very blatant cultural prudishness in advocating upgrade of hawker food and prices. Only the ignorant doesn't know the origin and status of hawker food.

Hawker food originated as cheap roadside food for the coolies:
- cheap and readily available ingredients like discarded vegetables, unsold pork fats, innards, viscera, entrails, 3rd grade ikan kuning, ikan bilis, bean sprouts, tau pok, cockles, etc. were used
- chilli, sweet sauce, vinegar and other condiments were used to musk the strong smell
- frying methods were also used to pass off cheaper ingredients

Quite the opposite, many people are seeking traditional fares.

3. The greatest sin is to elevate the status of hawker fare to haute cuisine and make comparisons. It is plain ignorance. It is very odd for "gourmets" to go on round-island trips to seek out coolie food and blog about their "makan sessions".

Hawker food are perfect as cheap and quick meals for salaried workers (including white-collar workers). We eat to live, especially on workdays. There are many websites giving simple review/guide of what are available. They are informative and we should just stop at that.

 

[hummingbird]

Talking about food! .. tired of tv channel 8 recommending "foot" literally everday. Don't they have better things to show other than food. Is Channel 8 all about food during the prime time screening. .. sucks!

 

[phouse3]

I don't switch on the TV daily. If what you claim is true, then the media (including the print media) are to be blamed for promoting vulgarity.

I remember reading someone said that good food in Singapore is a myth and the best food is home-cooked food. I think he is absolutely correct.

Firstly, hawker food is neither wholesome nor proper. It consists tiny portions of vegetables, meat, staple and soup lumped in one dish.

Homecooked food is proper food.

Secondly, our restaurant food is sub-standard.

One can find more authentic Japanese food in Thailand/Indonesia where the menu, furniture, decor and the manners of the kimono-clad waitresses stay true to the original. As quite a few Japanese will tell you, the Japanese food in Singapore is "inedible".

This may come as a surprise, even the Chinese food in many Western cities are more authentic and delicious than those found here.

There are good food in Singapore - but it is rare.

The point is: Hawker food is part of us and we can't avoid it. So by all means consume it. But we need to bear in mind that hawker food is vulgar.

It is a stupid idea to introduce your foreign friends to hawker food. If they are well-read, they may feel insulted. I suspect some tourist guidebooks mentioned that hawker food is coolie food.

 

[jw5]

In recent years, I see many blogs promoting hawker food. Fortunately, most just stick to straight reviews. However, there are a few philistines. One blogger complained to the TV media that it should not "glamourised" cheap hawker food which will lead to lower quality of food as hawkers will be competing on price alone.

1. In reality, $2 or $3 food sold by hawkers happy with a subsisting income are actually more delicious and of higher quality than the expensive ones dish out by neo hawker-entrepreneurs, and on an overwhelming lopsided scale! In reality, low-risk low-returns pricing is a business decision as hawking has always been extremely competitive. The hawkers are smarter and have more commonsense.

2. I also see very blatant cultural prudishness in advocating upgrade of hawker food and prices. Only the ignorant doesn't know the origin and status of hawker food.

Hawker food originated as cheap roadside food for the coolies:
- cheap and readily available ingredients like discarded vegetables, unsold pork fats, innards, viscera, entrails, 3rd grade ikan kuning, ikan bilis, bean sprouts, tau pok, cockles, etc. were used
- chilli, sweet sauce, vinegar and other condiments were used to musk the strong smell
- frying methods were also used to pass off cheaper ingredients

Quite the opposite, many people are seeking traditional fares.

3. The greatest sin is to elevate the status of hawker fare to haute cuisine and make comparisons. It is plain ignorance. It is very odd for "gourmets" to go on round-island trips to seek out coolie food and blog about their "makan sessions".

Hawker food are perfect as cheap and quick meals for salaried workers (including white-collar workers). We eat to live, especially on workdays. There are many websites giving simple review/guide of what are available. They are informative and we should just stop at that.

Delicious hawker food is about the only good thing in SG these days.

 

[jw5]

Talking about food! .. tired of tv channel 8 recommending "foot" literally everday. Don't they have better things to show other than food. Is Channel 8 all about food during the prime time screening. .. sucks!

Would you rather they show our "celebreties" going around buying designer items?
At least with the food programs, you can concentrate on the food and not on the people.

 

[hummingbird]

Would you rather they show our "celebreties" going around buying designer items?
At least with the food programs, you can concentrate on the food and not on the people.

To be very honest, I hardly watch tv. But then, on many occasions in the midst of preparing/eating dinner I switched on the tv to catch 6:30 or 7pm news and more often that not, in between advertisement break .. they showed you this actor/actress introducing "where to eat", "where the food orignated from" ... I think out of 1 week .. as good as 3/4 show regarding food is screened.

I guess it could be low cost to produce such episode .. my guess

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

I don't switch on the TV daily. If what you claim is true, then the media (including the print media) are to be blamed for promoting vulgarity.

I remember reading someone said that good food in Singapore is a myth and the best food is home-cooked food. I think he is absolutely correct.

Firstly, hawker food is neither wholesome nor proper. It consists tiny portions of vegetables, meat, staple and soup lumped in one dish.

Homecooked food is proper food.

Secondly, our restaurant food is sub-standard.

One can find more authentic Japanese food in Thailand/Indonesia where the menu, furniture, decor and the manners of the kimono-clad waitresses stay true to the original. As quite a few Japanese will tell you, the Japanese food in Singapore is "inedible".

This may come as a surprise, even the Chinese food in many Western cities are more authentic and delicious than those found here.

There are good food in Singapore - but it is rare.

The point is: Hawker food is part of us and we can't avoid it. So by all means consume it. But we need to bear in mind that hawker food is vulgar.

It is a stupid idea to introduce your foreign friends to hawker food. If they are well-read, they may feel insulted. I suspect some tourist guidebooks mentioned that hawker food is coolie food.

Damn so eating hawker food is actually being a peasant???

I am surely not one.

 

[phouse3]

Damn so eating hawker food is actually being a peasant???

I am surely not one.

No. I think I am very clear on that point.

It is unscientific to suggest that hawker food alter your genes. Genes are passed on. Please look elsewhere.

 

[jw5]

To be very honest, I hardly watch tv. But then, on many occasions in the midst of preparing/eating dinner I switched on the tv to catch 6:30 or 7pm news and more often that not, in between advertisement break .. they showed you this actor/actress introducing "where to eat", "where the food orignated from" ... I think out of 1 week .. as good as 3/4 show regarding food is screened.

I guess it could be low cost to produce such episode .. my guess

A lot of these are reruns, first shown several years ago and now shown in between programmes.