Commentary: Singaporeans’ reluctance to pay more for hawker food is endangering the trade

[Unfazed]

For you guys...SG cheap cheap one lah. Where in the world buy public house guarantee you make money 5 years later? Where got so good? Become Hawkers...why so pai mia? 5 years sell house shake leg yo lam par also can lah. I opened my eyes see big big. Nowadays, many young work permit people are choosing to eat cheap for their dinner, not even hawker food. 🤭

 

Edited January 10 by Unfazed

[Hubwee]

My parents are hawkers ... i have seen first hand how tough life is for hawkers , so i will never complain about hawkers charging higher prices for their food . 

When i say hawkers , its hawkers who are owners themselves hor .. not those hawker bosses who employs FT to help man their stalls and collect money monthly only .. 

My parents used to have to wake up at 2am daily , be at their stall to prep and starts at 530 am . by the time they closed for the day , will be around 2 pm , cleaning and washing , home at 4 pm . 7 pm needs to soak rice & yellow beans , prep and pack chili into individual packets ( me and my siblings have to help lo ) then 9 pm go sleep .. no off day except for 10 days during CNY .

If anyone thinks or complain such owner hawkers are pricing their food too high , you can jolly well go join the hawker trade and try to compete with these "high priced hawker food lo ...  

[Unfazed]

On 1/10/2025 at 6:11 PM, Hubwee said:

My parents are hawkers ... i have seen first hand how tough life is for hawkers , so i will never complain about hawkers charging higher prices for their food . 

When i say hawkers , its hawkers who are owners themselves hor .. not those hawker bosses who employs FT to help man their stalls and collect money monthly only .. 

My parents used to have to wake up at 2am daily , be at their stall to prep and starts at 530 am . by the time they closed for the day , will be around 2 pm , cleaning and washing , home at 4 pm . 7 pm needs to soak rice & yellow beans , prep and pack chili into individual packets ( me and my siblings have to help lo ) then 9 pm go sleep .. no off day except for 10 days during CNY .

If anyone thinks or complain such owner hawkers are pricing their food too high , you can jolly well go join the hawker trade and try to compete with these "high priced hawker food lo ...  

I'm sure most here are not pointing their fingers to the hawkers.

We should be pondering why even at the prices today, hawkers can't even take home a decent amount to feed their family. 

We should also ponder why so many hawkers don't want their children to take after them. If it's tough and out of parental love reasons, I can understand. But if it's the case that even after all sheer hardwork, one ends up slogging just to pay the unrealistic high rents today to fatten another's pocket, then don't blame the dying hawker trade.

By then, come up with SMLJ sugarcoat name to the hawker trade also won't save it. 

Kudos to your parents. I'm sure they made an honest decent living.

Unlike some that jumps on the opportunity preaching less sugar and increasing by ten twenty cent making siu siu dai by default. And one has to pay more to make it into normal dai, if you know what I mean. 

I think you know what's the frustration on-ground when on the front, many things are just made to look good.

[Scion]

On 1/10/2025 at 8:27 PM, Unfazed said:

I'm sure most here are not pointing their fingers to the hawkers.

We should be pondering why even at the prices today, hawkers can't even take home a decent amount to feed their family. 

We should also ponder why so many hawkers don't want their children to take after them. If it's tough and out of parental love reasons, I can understand. But if it's the case that even after all sheer hardwork, one ends up slogging just to pay the unrealistic high rents today to fatten another's pocket, then don't blame the dying hawker trade.

By then, come up with SMLJ sugarcoat name to the hawker trade also won't save it. 

Kudos to your parents. I'm sure they made an honest decent living.

Unlike some that jumps on the opportunity preaching less sugar and increasing by ten twenty cent making siu siu dai by default. And one has to pay more to make it into normal dai, if you know what I mean. 

I think you know what's the frustration on-ground when on the front, many things are just made to look good.

 

yes, same sentiments here

no one, at least not us, are blaming the hawkers

we love our hawker food and will like the hawkers to do well, and want this hawker trade to flourish as long as possible

but to me i really think the high rentals are killing the trade, never what the gahmen says

and it starts from the cycle of one parcel of site surge in land price, resulting in its surroundings also surge in prices...

big corporates trying to outbid each others, even some small hawkers also trying to outbid each others

in the end we need to question ourselves what do these landlords produce or contribute to society?

[mersaylee]

On 1/10/2025 at 5:42 PM, Unfazed said:

For you guys...SG cheap cheap one lah. Where in the world buy public house guarantee you make money 5 years later? Where got so good? Become Hawkers...why so pai mia? 5 years sell house shake leg yo lam par also can lah. I opened my eyes see big big. Nowadays, many young work permit people are choosing to eat cheap for their dinner, not even hawker food. 🤭

 

Erection cuming...more sell koyok...pxp wanshui beedeo...😁

[inlinesix]

On 1/10/2025 at 9:53 PM, mersaylee said:

Erection cuming...more sell koyok...pxp wanshui beedeo...😁

She migrated to KL.

Previously lived in London.

Both PRC.

 

[mersaylee]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:03 PM, inlinesix said:

She migrated to KL.

Previously lived in London.

Both PRC.

 

Your ah tiong fren issit? 😁

[inlinesix]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:12 PM, mersaylee said:

Your ah tiong fren issit? 😁

I saw a couple of bideo la

Retired earlier than T2🤭

[mersaylee]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:13 PM, inlinesix said:

I saw a couple of bideo la

Retired earlier than T2🤭

You or that ah tiong bu? 🤔

[inlinesix]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:15 PM, mersaylee said:

You or that ah tiong bu? 🤔

Her entire family.

Kids like in kindergarten 

[mersaylee]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:16 PM, inlinesix said:

Her entire family.

Kids like in kindergarten 

Wow! Earned sterling poundS...boleh retire in kl derapark city...cum here spend sink dollah shout cheap cheap cheap...garment very good garment very caring garment tax very low...wanshui...😁

[Meanmachine]

The lower end of F&B operators ranking are HC/ Coffee shops and Kopi_tiam franchises, then fast foods Cafe and Malls restaurants , Hotel in house restuartants , lastly but not least estate favourites like Dempsey are all struggling rental cost, up to 30% more to Landlord, most be facing challenges . . look at their products storage and warehouses, central kitchen cost outlay, ( Purchase and leases ) play a role on determining foods cost from one location to another, logistics cost are competitive, Labours cost are the one of the factors right down to the kitchen staff skillsets and food knowledge, there is a difference in a  "Cook and a Chef "

A cook will just follow instruction to wipe up a meal according to what he know the ingredient set for and prep the meal as in his cook training days .

A Chef is a trained and experienced F&B certified with years of training, recruitment, ordering & purchasing cost for Suppliers, warehouses and foods cost outsourcing for various overseas supplier, eg: Bakery of bread, cakes and confectionary like Flours, yeast and kitchen equipments suitable for a 400sf to 900sf or 1200-1550/ 2200sf malls spaces to Restaurant capacity including seating space of 60/40 divide     . . . . In general, a F&B individual must be aware of customer's eating trends and behaviour, Location, accessibility, types od spaces - Shophouses on main road , Shopping malls, Legal regulations and rental cost that may impact the running cost, most Hawker/s may not has buffer cash flow of no more than 4/5 months to last let alone take back a salary for more than 12 months..

Not talking about high end malls in Central locations or Hotel;s popular Restaurants.

[Jamesc]

Good hawkers never complain no biz.

Only complain too much biz cannot even go toilet. 

Have you seen the long queues at the popular hawker stalls?

I din hear anyone complain price so expensive I refuse yo pay.

Another bs article. 

[Jamesc]

Why is Michelin star restaurants with 6 month waiting list not going out of business?

You always hear me say - So expensive I refuse to pay!

[Playtime]

On 1/10/2025 at 11:35 AM, Beregond said:

To be fair  . The day we become the most expensive city in the world. Cheap and good food. Or cheap and good hawker food is going to die out.

Cheap and good dun go hand in hand with the most expensive city in the world.

Long working hours. No leave or mc. L  Poor working condition.  Yet low income. How to fix that into the most expensive city in the world?

Once the current old generation of hawker that are still selling at low price retire.

That's it. We will still have hawker food. But it's no longer the current price. 

We 啃老。。their cheap labour. 

[Victor68]

The reasons why people don't want to be hawker is because of the income is low and hours are long. The first thing is to provide low rental stall but such stall must be operated by the approved hawker and strictly no sub let. Each stall can he occupied by 2 hawkers operating 2 shifts. If they can ear a decent living being hawker, then there is no need to work long hours. Like office workers, they can have the weekly day off and fixed operating hours. I hope hawker center culture will continue here. 

[Ahwhye]

On 2/7/2025 at 3:54 PM, Victor68 said:

The reasons why people don't want to be hawker is because of the income is low and hours are long. The first thing is to provide low rental stall but such stall must be operated by the approved hawker and strictly no sub let. Each stall can he occupied by 2 hawkers operating 2 shifts. If they can ear a decent living being hawker, then there is no need to work long hours. Like office workers, they can have the weekly day off and fixed operating hours. I hope hawker center culture will continue here. 

you talking about scenario in some utopia? here is sinkapore lah!

Edited February 7 by Ahwhye

[Ender]

I have been with a local Fried Hokkien Mee(FHM) Facebook group. I found out there are  quite a few good gen Z FHM hawkers around. Gen Z FHM has their unique signature, i.e more wet and strong unami. Tried a few and they are really good. Just hope they can survive, and that the recommendation from the FB group are helping.

Edited February 7 by Ender