k r i s a n d r o

There is particular topic that has came up quite a few times in my conversations with KKNN; the possible death of delicious hawker food.

This topic is close to KKNN’s heart as her Dad & Mum runs a prawn noodle stall at Whampoa. The receipe has been passed down for 3 generations so far and like many other hawker businesses in Singapore, we feel that they face extinction.

The level of education in Singapore has improved by leaps and bounds for the last decade or so and the pursuit of acadamic qualifications has made other interests like cooking a tertiary skill. Most of the people around my age or so (myself included) probably have the culinary skills to ruin instant noodles. Not that people like us have no interest in good food; we still want awesome food but preparing it ourselves is a place where we seldom thread.

I am sure all of you guys have favorite hawker stalls littered all over Singapore like some of mine: roti prata at The Prata House @ Thomson Road and the carrot cake in Changi Village. Go look at the people who are running the stalls now and don’t you realize that these cooks are almost all of the older generation and has no hints of a younger generation taking over. It also doesn’t help that most of them would only pass on their recipes to close members of the family.

I think it is rather safe of me to assume that most delicious hawker food will die off in my generation and the rest will also go by the next.

There is still some ray of hope for hawker families like KKNN’s as she is more than willing to take over her Dad’s stall due to her strong interest in cooking. Her dad isn’t willing to pass on the ladle to her as he wants her to experience the world first before deciding if she wants to walk in his path.

In Singlish terms he is saying, “WAH LAU EH! Spend so much money to let you study and you want to sell HEI MEE after you get your degree? YOU SIAO AH!“

I hate to say this when I can’t help the situation myself but for those who has an interest in cooking and has a family hawker business, why not consider taking over it? If you have a hawker business but have nobody to pass it on to, why not find a disciple? Getting a person with love for cooking sure beats passing the business to a son/daughter with no interest or bringing your recipes to the grave.

Save our Char Kway Teow! (So that I can still eat em..)

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