Kinship

“It is good people who make good places” – Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

This is definitely what attracted Ms Woo to stay in the hawker centre business till today. With 38 years of experience, Ms Woo is definitely no new face at Aljunied hawker centre.

Taking the mantle from her parents who had the stall, she is no stranger to the hawker industry. She smiles and admits that she doesn’t make much from the business today. Reflecting on older times, she acknowledges that the largest difference in the hawker trade today is that it certainly cannot compare to brisk business in the past.

“Last time in the 70s business very good can raise one whole family. Now it isn’t as good. I have two children, my husband owns a business. So i don’t have any burdens.”

Thus, she earns just enough to “pay for rent and a little pocket money” each month, but Ms Woo is contented and happy.

Puzzled, we probed deeper on her persistence in running her stall, since she did not have to depend on the hawker trade for a living, unlike typical hawker stall owners. Her eyes lit up as she shared with us.

“I feel very happy doing this, because I have a lot of friends and customers.”

In her 38 years operating her kueh stall, Ms Woo has made invaluable relationships with regular customers, who had become long-time friends over time. In fact, her friends were at the table with us as we interviewed Ms Woo at her stall.

Her friends, who were regular patrons of Aljunied food centre, have been going to Ms Woo’s store on average of four times a week for the past 10 years.

“We come down because she [Ms Woo] is very bored!” they joked.

Curious, we asked: Why is the hawker centre so special to you?

It was simple. The hawker centre is not simply a convenient place to buy affordable food for them. Instead, it has transformed into a symbolic space to gather and catch up with each other’s lives.

“It’s a place to rest after working. After work so tired also can come here to walk about. Also you make friends here, and have cheap food. It’s a place where we can see a lot of things and meet a lot of people.”

The hawker centre is a friendly place for them to not only catch up with friends but to make new friends through existing connections. Everybody is a friend’s friend, they say.

Halfway through, another friend joined us at the table. In her arms was a little swaddled baby. Immediately, a flurry of excitement swept through the group as the ladies ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the little one. All thoughts about hawker centres vanished momentarily.

When the excitement died down, the conversation sombered. They continued on explaining why hawker centres are important to not only stall owners, but also its patrons.

“Like that cannot happen in food court because we take up space and people need to do business! Not that many seats then we also paiseh [embarrassed] to sit so long so cannot sit so long must hurry off. So hawker centre becomes a place that we make friends and meet up with friends.”

Ms Woo is optimistic about the future of hawker centres, as she believes that there will still be people, though perhaps lesser, who choose to do this because of passion. She reminds us that the hawker trade is no easy feat. It takes a lot of commitment and effort.

“It is very hard work. you can interview anyone here, they also can say so. They wake up at 4am, and work. After they go home also have to work.”

When asked about how her neighbours are faring economically, Ms Woo comments

“A lot of people feel very stressed by this, but I don’t depend on this a lot economically, if not it would be very stressful. It would be quite impossible to raise a family.”

Nonetheless, she emphasizes the importance of hawker centres

“This place is important to us. Actually it's important to everybody. You need to eat, can come here. Come here can make friends, that you cannot have as much at other places. Other places cannot substitute the hawker centre. It’s very important, we must preserve it.”

“I like this place because there is 亲情 [family love; kinship]”​​

#Hawkercentre #hawkerculture #food #Kueh