A common question we hear on our food tour is, What is a hawker centre? A simple answer would be to describe Singapore’s hawker centres as food courts. Hawker centres are much more than this though.
Back in the 19th century it was common for street peddlers to sell their food along the main roads of the city. Men with long bamboo poles, laden with buckets of curry or laksa would walk the streets, feeding the hungry masses. You could do a food tour without moving from one spot.  After the second world war in particular the number of hawkers was at its peak.
 
The only way to get the hawkers off the streets and police hygiene quality was to house them in hawker centres. In 1971 the government began to construct markets and hawker centres around the country. Attracted by better conditions and low rent the centres began to fill up and the streets emptied.  The government continued to build through the 70’s and early 80’s.
 
So that’s how our iconic hawker centres came about. But they aren’t just eating places. They are community hubs, meeting spots, places to watch football on TV and catch up on all the local gossip. For many on our food tour, they are a place to finally be amongst real local life. Which is what our tour wants to acheive.
 
A normal hawker stand will specialise in one dish. On our food tour we will visit different stands and vendors for the quality of their dish. Often Singaporeans will queue for a very long time at one hawker. The hawker next door is selling the same dish and has no queue. This is where a food tour comes in. On our food tour we can cut those queues and get straight to the food.
 
On our Katong tour we also visit a hawker bar where craft beers are on sale along with more sophisticated offerings such as Ramen and Thai cuisine. In Singapore new hawker centres are popping up with such offerings. They encourage more younger locals to visit and spend their money. Of course old school hawkers still rule the neighbourhood.
 
Our food tour takes in many different vendors in Singapore. We find a lot of our guests enjoy the aspect of visiting hawker centres, for the food as well as the experience. Sitting with the locals, eating the food they eat, in the friendly and noisy atmosphere of the hawker centre is a truly memorable experience for any visitor.
 
To book the best Singapore food tour go to www.singabites.com/tours