ORIGIN & SOURCES of Singapore Hawker Culture • Born with a Silver Spoon of Unusual Wealth in Culinary Inheritance

Singapore is one of the youngest countries in the world yet it is blessed with the cuisines of several of the world's oldest civilisations.

Singapore became independent in 1965. Just 146 years prior, Singapore was a backwater, part of the Johore Sultanate which realm included Johor, Singapore, the Riau islands and east Sumatra. Most of Singapore's inhabitants at that time were fishermen, farmers or sea nomads (Orang Laut).

Sir Stamford Raffles was looking for a port and base for the British East India Company (EIC). At that time, the European powers Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands were already in the Malay archipelago vying for control of the lucrative trade routes between East and West.

Raffles found Singapore yet unclaimed by any European power and decided that it was ideal for setting up a base and trading post for the British East India Company. After signing the Singapore Treaty with the Sultan and a Temenggong of Johore in 1819, Raffles quickly set his vision in motion.

Chinese hawker in Singapore, 1880. Credit: Wikipedia

To operate the trading post, Raffles brought labourers from China, India and Indonesia. For traders, he invited the merchants of Malacca and Bencoolen (southwest Sumatra) to kickstart the port of Singapore. These labourers and traders brought with them their ancient cuisines which remained at the foundation of Singapore hawker culture today.

Chinese

First Opium War between European powers and Qing dynasty China 1839 - 1842. Credit: Wikipedia.

In the 1800s, the Qing dynasty in China which ruled its vast empire since 1644, was in its death throes. Corruption and incompetence had weakened the Middle Kingdom thus fomenting widespread rebellions and inviting foreign invasion. Famine, poverty and lawlessness forced millions to flee. For Raffles, China provided a willing and available source of labourers for the port of Singapore.

The majority came from the southern coastal provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. It was not a homogeneous community but different language groups comprising Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka and Hainanese. These were all ancient cultures bringing their own unique history and cuisine to the table.

Chinese hawkers at Telok Ayer Market, 1910s. Credit: NAS

Citing only a few examples from commonly found dishes in Singapore hawker centres today, the Hokkien brought minced pork noodle, prawn noodle; Teochew brought fried kway teow, kway chup; Cantonese came with wanton noodle, chee cheong fun; Hakka came with lei cha, yong tau foo; Hainanese gave us Hainanese chicken rice, beef noodle, mutton soup, etc.

Poached chicken and Cantonese roasts sold together in the 1980s. Credit: NAS

The Hainanese were the last to arrive in Singapore as the port of Haikou in Hainan was opened to travel and trade only in 1858. The Hainanese were locked out of jobs by earlier migrants in Singapore, so many Hainanese men ended up as cooks in British and Peranakan homes. This would have profound impact on Singapore hawker culture as I shall explain later in this article.

Indians

Battle of Assaye between the British East India Company and the Maratha empire in 1803. Credit: Wikipedia

In 1819, when Raffles founded Singapore for the British East India Company (EIC), the Company had already been expanding their control over India for over half a century (since 1757). The Mughal empire and its successor the Maratha empire were both defeated in battles with the EIC thus allowing the Company to lodge itself in Madras (today's Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and eventually Delhi. It was thus natural that when the EIC established a "Singapore branch", manpower from EIC controlled India such as from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were tapped to kickstart the Company's new venture.

Indian hawkers in Singapore, 1920s. Credit: NAS

India at that time was still not a nation and "Indians" identified themselves in terms of regions and castes. Like the Chinese, the Indian migrants were a heterogeneous group and were even more diverse. The language groups included Tamil, Bangla, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Hindi, etc and they came to Singapore as labourers, servants, boatmen, moneylenders, traders and merchants. There were also soldiers (Sepoys) and convicts (as jails in India were overcrowded at that time).

Roti prata hawker, 1988. Credit: NAS

The Indians brought roti prata (also known as roti Canai), putu mayang, thosai, vadai, appam and briyani, just to name a few examples commonly found in hawker centres today.

Indonesians

Majapahit-era gold armlet with Hindu deity Kala motif excavated at Fort Canning

It would be a mistake to assume Indian cuisine was brought to Singapore only through the EIC (post 1819). Indian influence in the Malay archipelago was at its height long before the Europeans arrived. Since the first century, Indian traders came with Brahmin priests to the Malay archipelago for spices. Local chiefs allied with the Indian traders often through marriages and assimilated Indian customs and ideas. Indian statecraft, culture and religion (Hinduism, Buddhism and later Islam through Indian Muslims) were admired and emulated by the local chiefs and their subjects.

Indianised kingdoms sprouted across the archipelago from Sumatra to Java. These later united to form the Srivijaya empire based in Palembang Sumatra and after its fall, rose the Majapahit empire based in Java. The kingdom of Singapura founded by a Srivijayan prince Sang Nila Utama in 1299 was one such Indianised kingdom.

Malay hawkers in Singapore, 1910s. Credit: NAS

The Malay and Indonesian cuisines of today have their roots from these ancient Indianised kingdoms. Today, Indonesia is still made up of many regional ethnicities which arose from these old Indianised kingdoms.

Malay satay hawker, 1906. Credit: NAS

With the opening of the port of Singapore, the Bugis from Sulawesi came to set up base in Singapore (in 1820) bringing with them their trade networks which spanned across the archipelago. They were warmly welcome by Farquhar, the Singapore Resident. Raffles who was the Lieutenant Governor of Bencoolen (1818 - 1824) brought merchants from the west Sumatran city. Minangkabau people from Sumatra; Sundanese, Boyanese and Javanese from Java; Banjarese from Kalimantan quickly followed suit. They came to Singapore as merchants, traders, craftsmen, gardeners, hawkers, labourers, etc.

Satay hawker in Singapore, 1969. Credit: NAS

Along with Indonesians came their cuisines with their ancient Indian roots. From the Indonesians, we have mee rebus, lontong, soto, satay, ayam penyet, rendang, nasi Padang, etc., which are found in hawker centres throughout Singapore.

British

Obviously, the British officers also brought their food culture with them to Singapore but it was not the British who spread it, made it accessible and part of Singapore's hawker culture. Credit for that goes to the Chinese Hainanese who worked as cooks in homes of British colonial officers and in military bases. The Hainanese, after saving enough money opened coffee shops (kopitiam) and restaurants where they serve their interpretations of British cuisine. If not for the Hainanese, British cuisine would remain in the households of colonial officers and military bases rather than become widely available in hawker centres and British Hainan restaurants.

Examples of British Hainan cuisine include Hainanese versions of soft boiled eggs, kaya & butter toasts, pork chop, chicken chop, oxtail stew, etc., just to name a few commonly available ones at Singapore hawker centres and Hainanese restaurants.

Peranakan

Peranakan wedding, 1941. Credit: Wikipedia

Peranakan means "local born" in Malay. Chinese Peranakan history harks all the way back to the 1400s during the heyday of the Malacca Sultanate (1402 - 1511) and Ming dynasty when trade flourished between the Malays and Chinese. Some Chinese traders married Malay ladies in Malacca and their descendants are known as Peranakan.

By 1819 when Raffles arrived in Singapore, the British East India Company already controlled Malacca since 1795 (and Penang since 1786). William Farquhar, Raffles' deputy and the first Resident (governor) of Singapore was also previously Resident of Malacca (1813 - 1818). Tapping on his Malacca network, Farquhar encouraged Malacca merchants to set up businesses in Singapore.

The long established, wealthy Peranakan merchants of Malacca came to Singapore, bringing with them their trade networks and Peranakan culture which included their unique Chinese - Malay fusion cuisine.

Laksa hawker in Singapore, date unknown. Credit: NAS

The Peranakan treasure their unique hybrid cuisine which was passed down through generations of mothers to daughters who were judged for their suitability for marriage by their cooking skills. The wealthy Peranakan loathe the idea of their heirloom cuisine becoming part of hawker culture or sold in restaurants.

Again, we have to thank (or no thanks if you are Peranakan) to the Hainanese. As latecomers to Singapore, the Hainanese had to settle for jobs as cooks in Peranakan (and British) households where they were exposed to Peranakan (and British) cuisine.

Laksa hawker in Singapore, 1980. Credit: NAS

As they did with British cuisine, the Hainanese later sold Peranakan dishes in the streets and in restaurants (e.g. Guan Hoe Soon in Joo Chiat). Singapore Laksa which is ubiquitous in Singapore hawker centres today was a Peranakan dish first brought out to the streets by Hainanese.

Silver Spoon of Unusual Wealth of Culinary Inheritance

Thanks to its strategic location at the crossroads between East and West, Singapore is the heir of ancient cuisines from China, India, the Malay archipelago and Europe. The foundations of Singapore cuisine is therefore uncommonly deep and rich.

School tuckshop, 1971. Credit: NAS

Singaporeans are born with a silver spoon of unusual culinary wealth with many ancient traditions coexisting comfortably together through centuries. Most Singapore children are exposed to these diverse, complex cuisines by early childhood.

Thus, we are receptive to new flavours, aromas and experiences as second nature. New flavours and tastes find receptive audiences in Singapore. Hence, Singapore cuisine have a certain boldness in experimentation and entrepreneurship - mix and match, emulate, inspire, create from scratch, anything is worth a try.

In today's globalised world, Singaporeans do not just wait for new experiences to reach our shores. We also travel the world for food and bring those we like back to Singapore.

Written by Tony Boey on 4 Oct 2022