UNESCO adds Singapore’s Street Food to its Heritage List

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Singapore’s street food culture has been added by UNESCO to its prestigious list entitled as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The street food hawker culture of Singapore- one of the most lasting and renowned institutions of the city-state- has been granted this timely appraisal.

History of this Culture

This hawker culture has prevailed in Singapore for decades. It connotes the street vendors cooking and selling renowned dishes in the 114 hawker centers across the city-state. Singapore’s food hall are dubbed as the nation’s dining rooms where people from the myriad walks of life come together to eat freshly prepared, cheap meals. The list of meals sold by these food hawkers is quite extensive and decadent. They prepare everything from roasted ducks, steamed pork buns to fish head curries. However, each stall has a coveted specialty that has been perfected over the years.

Accolades Earned Over the Years

This prestigious accolade is in addition to the other appraisals the Singapore street food hawkers have attained over the years. Last year, they were included in the Michelin Bib Gourmand list of 58 places to eat in Singapore, where out of these 58 sites highlighted 33 were street food hawker stalls. Moreover, many such stalls also have Michelin stars awarded to them. Some of the most well-known hawker markets in Singapore are the Changi Village Hawker Center, the Old Airport Road Food Center, the East Coast Lagoon Food Village, the China Town complex Food Center, and others.

With the outbreak of the pandemic, the condition and predicament of this industry seemed to be in apparent peril. The government halted all dining at hawker stalls with the onset of the health crisis. Limited takeaway business was permitted, however most hawkers decided to shut down their stores completely due to the heavy losses they were incurring. Thus, the current verdict comes at an apt time. This UNESCO accolade places the hawkers at the same esteemed level as the cultural practice of Yoga in India and Tango in Argentina. UNESCO’s recognition will be a pivotal historical moment for the further expansion and growth of this street food hawker culture.