Email
Some civilizations chronicle their pasts with art or books. Others pass on history orally through folklore. In Singapore, the tale of how a humble fishing village in Southeast Asia evolved into a buzzing modern metropolis often comes in spoonfuls of peppery pork rib soup or bites of fried egg noodles at its hawker centers.
Across the city-state, the ubiquitous open-air food complexes are packed with closet-sized stalls, manned by hawkers businesspeople who both cook and sell fare from Hainanese-style chicken to Peranakan
laksa (lemongrass-coconut noodles). For visitors, hawker centers might just seem like jumbo food courts: Follow your nose or the longest line, then pay a few Singapore dollars for a trayful of chow to enjoy at a shared table.
Last Updated:
Singapore s Hawker Culture Serving As community Dining Room Gets UNESCO Recognition
Singapore s Hawker culture was added to the UN’s list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity along with French cuisine, Thai massage, and Yoga.
The Hawker Culture in Singapore, a popular Singaporean style of street dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban environment has been recognized by UNESCO. The culture has made it to the UN’s prestigious ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ along with French cuisine, Thai massage, and yoga. According to a statement by UNESCO, the inscription was made on Dec.16, nearly two years after the nomination of Singapore’s hawker culture for the UNESCO at the National Day Rally.
Culture
The hawker food scene is a giant part of Singapore s cultural fabric.
Basically a daily-life staple, Singaporeans love to consume hawker food, debate about hawker food, take photos of hawker food, and just about live and breathe hawker food.
So, it s really no surprise then that Singapore s hawker culture has finally been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as one of the world s most-prized cultural heritages, now sitting alongside 463 other cultures including yoga from India, Belgian beer, Malaysian Silat, and traditional Thai massages.
The news of Singaporean hawker culture s addition to UNESCO s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage arrived on December 16, 2020 during the virtual proceedings for the 15th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage session taking place this week.