1800s colonial port era
Migrant labour brings diverse cuisines
Chinese, Malay and Indian labourers arrive under British colonial trade, each bringing distinct home cooking that begins to intermingle.
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Cuisine book · 3 cities · 4 dishes
Singapore
A city-state's food obsession, refined to hawker perfection
Singapore's food culture distills Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan traditions into a hawker-centre system so prized it holds UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status — some stalls even hold Michelin stars.
History
Where it all comes from
Early 1900s
Street hawking becomes widespread
Itinerant food vendors sell meals from carts across the growing port city, forming the roots of hawker culture.
1960s-1980s
Hawker centres formalise
The government resettles street vendors into purpose-built hawker centres for hygiene and urban planning reasons.
1990s-2000s
Fusion dishes solidify identity
Dishes like chilli crab and Hainanese chicken rice become internationally recognised as distinctly Singaporean.
Today
UNESCO recognition and Michelin stars
Hawker culture is inscribed on UNESCO's list in 2020, and several stalls hold Michelin stars while charging only a few dollars.
Jump to a city
City 1 of 3
Chinatown
Historic hawker density and Michelin-starred street stalls.
Hainanese chicken rice
1920s Hainanese immigrant adaptation
Poached chicken over rice cooked in chicken fat, served with chilli and ginger sauces.
Michelin-starred soya sauce chicken rice
Hawker stall, 2016 Michelin star
A humble hawker dish elevated to global fame after becoming the world's first Michelin-starred street food.
City 2 of 3
Katong/Joo Chiat
Peranakan heritage district known for laksa.
Katong laksa
Peranakan tradition
A coconut curry noodle soup with cockles, served cut into short pieces to be eaten with a spoon only.
City 3 of 3
Geylang/East Coast
Seafood-focused dining along the coast.
Chilli crab
Invented Singapore, 1950s
Mud crab in a sweet, tomato-and-egg-thickened chilli sauce, mopped up with fried mantou buns.
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