Hawker Centers

Appears in
Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia & Singapore
Southeast Asian Flavors

By Robert Danhi

Published 2008

  • About
At every waking hour, food awaits. Often grouped in clusters, food stalls are commonplace in Southeast Asia. You may find a culinary treasure being offered on a street corner, down an alley, or on a village road. But it is when you gather from five to seventy-five stalls in one location that a “Hawker Center” is born. These food courts of Malaysia and Singapore are culinary meccas to locals and travelers alike.

Most vendors have been cooking the same dish or few dishes every day for years. They’re masters of their craft! Often a stall’s specialty has been passed down from generation to generation. Each spends a whole career focused on preparing a regionally unique offering, building and maintaining that all-important reputation. She or he may have chosen Chinese-inspired Char Kway Teow (wok-charred rice noodles with green onions and local clams), while others have focused on Malay Nasi Lemak (coconut rice with curries, cucumbers and crisp anchovies), or possibly Indian Roti Canai (crispy flat bread paired with curry or dhal). Even chicken wings are given the attention that they deserve; here they slowly roast them over a coal fire. A few Malaysian ringgit, less than one U.S. dollar, can get you a meal.