Singaporeans may feel that amidst the myriad of differences that make up Singapore, there is nothing that is truly, uniquely Singaporean. However, all Singaporeans will readily admit that food remains important within their lives, perhaps even a common thread that runs through the fledgling Singaporean psyche. Whatever happens, Singaporeans will still turn to food as a reliable source of comfort.

The hawker centres scattered throughout the country can be practically be considered as the folk soul of Singapore. Despite the modern food courts and the classy restaurants that now throng the city, the humble hawker centre remains as the roots of Singaporean food culture. In fact, when Singaporeans debate the eternal question as to where to get the best chicken rice or the tastiest laksa, the contenders are invariably nondescript stalls tucked away in a corner of the sprawling hawker centre complex.

In recent times however, hawker centres are experiencing a set-back. With the onset of modernity, hawker centres are viewed by some to be lacking in hygiene, comfort and most importantly, air-conditioning. Well-lit and well-ventilated food courts and polished gourmet restaurants are mushrooming to take the place of the hawker centre as preferred destination for meals. The hawker centre is fading away from its glorious heydays.

The government has tried to modernise the hawker centre and to remove the noisy, crowded and wet image associated with hawker centres. One of the measures that the government has employed is the constant and extensive renovation of hawker centre facilities. Hawker centres are now provided with better lighting, ventilation and drainage, while hawkers must meet the required hygiene standards for food storage and preparations.

The renovation of hawker centres is widespread, but one exceptional example would be Lau Pat Sat. Lau Pat Sat occupies a relatively unusual position in Singapore, being located in the Central Business District where expensive gourmet restaurants and fast food chains are much more common. The complex itself has been preserved for historical and cultural reasons, with the original Telok Ayer compound dating back to the 19^th century. Externally, it may seem that since a decrepit hawker centre is able to resist relocation and remain sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the glittering steel and glass skyscrapers, then Singapore’s hawker culture as a whole should be hardy enough to fend for itself.

Stepping into Lau Pat Sat, this view is drastically altered. Signs of encroachment by globalisation and the relentless tide of modernity are everywhere. The hawker centre is flanked by a Wendy’s fast food outlet and a Piccolo pizza joint. Stalls serving Japanese, Korean and even Vietnamese cuisine outnumber the number of stalls offering local food like nasi padang and char kway teow.  Even the bandung is served with bubble tea pearls. The rent is exorbitant, with one vendor claiming that he paid close to seven thousand dollars per month, despite having worked only four years there.

This is not to say that Lau Pat Sat has been gutted of all traces of local culture and is masquerading imported cultures as the bona fide Singaporean experience, but it cannot be taken as a representative of Singapore’s hawker centres in general. Many of the facilities there are never seen in the average hawker centre in the heartlands. An average hawker centre will not have a stage for band performances, nor delicately wrought iron filigree signs adorning its pillars to serve as direction markers, nor an interactive multimedia guide on display for curious patrons to better know the place. Most of the patrons of Lau Pat Sat are either young Singaporean yuppies or foreign tourists visiting the place. In essence, Lau Pat Sat is more of a tourist attraction than a true heartland hawker centre which Singaporeans remember and cherish.

In the search for a better representative of Singaporean hawker culture, Golden Mile Food Complex seemed like a better candidate. Despite having renowned hawker stalls that have garnered kudos from even celebrated critic Anthony Bourdain, Golden Mile Food Complex still remains a hawker centre that caters to the needs of the residents of the HDB estate. In contrast to Lau Pat Sat, the embellishments on the stalls are minimal and the patrons are predominantly average Singaporeans enjoying an everyday meal. All of the stalls offered local cuisine like sup tulang and chicken rice and sugarcane juice, with the stallowners having worked there for over 20 years. Golden Mile Food Complex, in comparison to Lau Pat Sat, was much less a tourist attraction than a Singaporean hawker centre. In fact, the stalls in Golden Mile Food Complex were much smaller than those in Lau Pat Sat, but were also much cleaner.

When the stallholders at Lau Pat Sat were interviewed, they said that the place had not undergone any major renovation over the past five years or so, only construction of a few more stalls. Some stallholders even said that there was no renovation going on at all. However, the multimedia display at information booth said that Lau Pat Sat had underwent ‘major and extensive renovation’ in 2008. All the stallholders did mention that there was an increase in rental fees after the 2008-2009.  The patrons that we interviewed also did not recall any significant improvement in the facilities or quality of food. Further research revealed that the renovation included the construction of new stalls, repainting and restoration works of certain parts of the centre and the addition of a band stand on top of the drinks stall. Evidently, the renovations of the centre enjoy a rather dubious success and a limited impact of stallholders and patrons alike. It seems like a lose-lose situation for both hawker and diner, with neither enjoying significant benefits but have to pay a larger sum of money.

A survey conducted on the school population of RGS also revealed that most students did not mind going to a hawker centre to eat instead of a food court. They felt that the hygiene standards in hawker centres were comparable to food courts and restaurants, and that upgrading or relocating these hawker centres to food courts would in fact be undesirable as the cost of dishes would invariably increase.

Perhaps the government could consider another course of action rather than the upgrading and relocation of hawker centres into food courts. The stallholders at Golden Mile Food Complex said that while they did not mind small-scale renovations for maintenance purposes, they did not want a massive renovation project of the whole complex as it would mean loss of business and affect their financial income. They also did not wish that the hawker centre be demolished and having to move to a food court instead.

One alternative measure that could be taken would be the promotion of Singaporean hawker culture, to raise awareness of Singapore’s disappearing hawker culture and to protect the legacy of street food amongst Singaporeans, away from the usual bland fare served in air-conditioned food courts. With the greater recognition of the place that hawker centres occupy within the Singaporean identity, both Singaporean hawker centres and culture can be preserved. However, the authorities in charge must also take great care to ensure that the hawker culture being promoted is genuinely Singaporean cuisine, not an ersatz version that has been tailored to suit ‘modern tastes’.

While Singapore may get swept along with the inevitable tide of modernity and globalisation, the very fundamentals of the Singaporean identity must remain unchanged and strengthened, or the country could very well find itself to be lost and directionless amidst the myriad of imported influences from other cultures.