Opening of Newton Hawker Centre

Year 1978

The beginnings of Newton Hawker Centre. This is a famous hawker centre today, further catapulted into fame by blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians when it was released in 2018.

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Ice-Cream Seller

Year 1958

Near Yangzheng Primary School, a mobile ice-cream seller in Chinatown is going about his day. While commonplace in the past, the government has stopped issuing licenses for this today.

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Cendol Hawker

Year 1959

Food peddlars were a common sight in the past for people to earn an income and also form of commodity for the rest. Here is one selling Cendol drinks outside the Singapore Club entrance. Cendol is a popular dessert in South East Asia, made from pandan, coconut and palm sugar.

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Telok Ayer Market

Year 1971

Before it is known as the Lau Pa Sat we visit today, it used to be called the Telok Ayer Market, and was built on reclaimed land. Today, due to its location in the CBD, it serves up fusion and local food to both office workers and tourists alike.

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Drinks Stall No 24

Year 1980

Drinks stall No. 24 at the Telok Ayer market was one of the three stalls that sold cheap coffee and tea. This Muslim store is making 'Teh Tarik', a famous local drink. 'Teh' means tea and 'Tarik' means pull, as literally seen in this photo. The bubbles made from the pulling action makes it delicious and frothy

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Stall at Newton Hawkers Centre

Year 1979

An increasing number of hawkers at food centres are taking to wearing uniforms, which are white tee shirts with the name of the centres at which they work printed on the back.

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Original Glutton's Square at Orchard

Year 1973

The original Glutton's Square was a popular open-air street dining area in the 1970s. It was located at a carpark opposite the current Centrepoint. Due to hygiene factors, the venue was closed in 1978. Hawkers were relocated to Cuppage Plaza and Newton Hawker Centre.

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Glutton's Square at Orchard Road Carpark

Year 1977

This was Orchard Road carpark (Glutton's Square) food stalls after some 30 stalls had moved to Newton Food Centre. As a result, there were about 50 stalls left in the car park. The remaining stalls were also relocated as prompted by hygiene concerns.

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Old Tiong Bahru Market

Year 1950

Tiong Bahru Market was built in December 1950. Opened in 1951, the Seng Poh Road Market is a wooden structure with a zinc roof. It houses many street food vendors and serves as a community canteen for residents of nearby HDB housing estates. In 1993, when the Seng Poh Road Market was renovated to accommodate more stalls, it was renamed Tiong Bahru Market. The market renovation cost $155,000.

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Hawkers at Bugis Street Posing

Year 1953

The picture features a tze char stall at Bugis Street. Between the 1950s and 60s, Bugis Street was known for nightlife, cabaret performances by drag queens, and food. Street stalls were opened till late to cater to the people that were there for the nightlife.

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Old Tiong Bahru Marketplace

Year 1953

Hawkers once gathered outside at the junction of Seng Poh Road and Tiong Bahru Road. In 1993, the hawking place was revamped and renamed Tiong Bahru Market, introducing new facilities and amenities. Between 2004 and 2006, the market underwent significant upgrading works. Today, Tiong Bahru Market stands as a 2-storey building, featuring a bustling wet market on the first floor and a vibrant hawker centre on the second, offering a wide range of local cuisine and fresh produce.

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Muslim Food Stall at Outram Road Hawker Centre

Year 1975

This is a Muslim food stall at the former Outram Road Hawker Centre. In 1963, Outram Park housing estate was built. This estate was one of the earliest mixed residential and commercial complexes in the Central Business District. It consisted of 12 blocks and was connected by corridors to form a shopping complex. The first two floors of each block contained shops, offices, and restaurants. In 2003, the flats were demolished and Outram Road Market ceased to exist.

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Malay Satay Seller at Beach Road

Year 1952

A Malay satay seller, smiled happily as he went to work fanning the charcoal fire to grill satay at Beach Road. Beach Road was a popular place for satay in the 50s.

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Happy Kid With Pig Cage Cakes

Year 1977

Flour is crafted into little pig shapes and packed into shape of pig-cage. They are what we call 'Pig Cage Cakes,' also known as Zhu Long Bing, were a special treat for the Mid-Autumn Festival. They always made children laugh with happiness, just like the little boy in the photo.

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Satay Feast at a Street Hawker during Hari Raya

Year 1962

A group of boys enjoying a satay feast outside the National Museum during Hari Raya Puasa. Before the establishment of hawker centres, street hawkers were a common sight, selling food such as satay from their portable stalls.

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Itinerant Hawker on the Streets at Geylang

Year 1960

A street hawker peddling food in Geylang, situated in front of a public school. Itinerant hawkers were a familiar sight in Singapore from the 19th century through to the mid-20th century. They could often be seen along bustling streets and busy intersections, selling a wide array of items such as food, drinks, vegetables, poultry, and various other goods. In this photograph, the hawker is seen offering food to passersby.

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Street Hawker Selling Kueh from a Drawer

Year 1960

Street hawking was a common livelihood in Singapore, offering low entry barriers. Hawkers used various carriers to transport their goods. In this photo, a 'Kueh Kebangsaan' vendor uses a box with drawers to display his treats, while a mobile pushcart is seen in the background. 'Kueh Kebangsaan' includes traditional snacks like 'kuih seri muka' and 'kuih bangkit'.

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Hawkers and Customers Enjoying Satay

Year 1955

A street hawker was fully focused on grilling satay, skewered pieces of meat, typically beef or mutton, at his portable stall. Strangers would find a seat, happily help themselves to the satay, dip it into a communal pot of gravy, and pay only for the number of sticks they took.

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Hawker Selling Porridge on Streets

Year 1983

A hawker was preparing food at a stall along a narrow street in Chinatown on July 1983. By the end of September 1983, this vibrant corner of Singapore had vanished. As street hawkers disappeared, the area underwent a transformation with many relocating to newly constructed hawker centres.

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Toast Grilled over a Charcoal Fire

Year 2017

The traditional coffee shops in Singapore believe that toast tastes best when grilled over a charcoal fire. Many locals favor charcoal-grilled toast for its distinctive fragrance, which cannot be replicated by electric ovens or gas stoves.

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Street Hawkers During Ramadan at Bussorah Street

Year 1965

Open-air street hawkers sold confections on Bussorah Street during the fasting month of Ramadan. These stalls were a common sight in Singapore, and the government attempted to regulate them due to concerns about hygiene and traffic congestion. The street hawking trade only saw improvements in regulation from the 1960s to the 1980s, when islandwide checks and registration exercises were enforced.

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Dining by the Singapore River

Year 1975

Opened in 1975 near Empress Place, in front of the Bank of China, the Boat Quay Food Centre was introduced by the Ministry of Environment to replace makeshift stalls that once occupied the site. Catering mainly to office workers in the vicinity, it stood as part of the government’s broader push to modernise street hawking. The centre was demolished in the mid-1990s during urban renewal.

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The Popular Swee Kee Chicken Rice Restuarant

Year 1980

Unlike street hawker stalls, restaurants offer more spacious and comfortable dining experiences. A family is seen enjoying their meal at the renowned Swee Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant on Middle Road. In 1997, the beloved Swee Kee, famous for its authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice, closed its doors.

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Chee Cheong Fun Stall at Temple Street

Year 1979

An elderly woman was selling rice dumplings and ‘chee cheong fun,’ a beloved rice noodle roll dish, from a modest stall along Temple Street. Many street hawkers like her, who had once operated in these makeshift spaces, were gradually relocated to more permanent stalls in the newly established hawker centres.

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Roasted Chestnuts Stall Moving to Hylam Street

Year 1980

Hawker stalls situated at both ends of Bugis Street were once instructed to relocate to an adjacent lane. In response to this directive, a roasted chestnut stall placed a sign notifying its customers of the upcoming move to Hylam Street. The notice, written in Chinese characters, read, "We’ll be moving to Hylam Street."

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Satay Street Hawker

Year 1978

A street hawker was selling satay as a means of livelihood. Traditionally a Malay dish, satay is made of skewered cubes of grilled meat, typically served with a peanut sauce dip, and is enjoyed by people of all races.

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Hainanese Chicken Rice for Only a Dollar

Year 2001

Hainanese chicken rice is a cherished local dish, featuring tender poached chicken served in bite-sized pieces alongside fragrant rice. It is usually accompanied by chili sauce and sometimes dark soy sauce. Faced with competition, a Hainanese chicken rice stall introduced a $1 chicken rice offering, attracting 600 to 700 customers daily due to its incredibly affordable prices.

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Kachang Putih Stall

Year 2004

'Kacang putih' is a traditional Malay snack often sold by Indian vendors, consists of roasted or fried nuts and beans, usually served in paper cones. This stall at Turf City displayed the nuts in plastic containers and featured bright lighting. Stalls in the past used to be sell the snacks from a makeshift table or bicycle. Once a common street snack in Singapore, kacang putih stalls have mostly disappeared.

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A Humble Stall Selling Snacks Outside Shophouse

Year 1960

In the past, street hawkers played a vital role in providing affordable food to the public. This particular hawker set up a humble stall made of a simple wooden table outside a shophouse. This was a typical location for such small businesses. These hawkers catered to the working class, offering inexpensive meals that helped satisfy their hunger and provided convenience to the busy urban life.

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