Will we remember?

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory – Dr Seuss

Last Saturday, we went down to Aljunied Avenue 2 Food Centre to interview Ms Mardianah. Ms Mardianah is a new hawker at the food centre, having recently opened her store three months ago. Although she is new to the hawker scene, she is no stranger to cooking. Her passion for cooking brought her to her previous job where she cooked for hotel staff for a whopping 10 years.

For Ms Mardianah, opening this store was a breakthrough as she had been trying to get a tender at this food centre, succeeding only on the fifth time. When asked if it is hard to run a hawker business, she admits that 3 months is too short to judge and will wait till 6 months to see if this venture is successful. However, what remains most important to her is to be happy at whatever she does.

“I don’t work so hard ok. I work as I can… Because if you are pressure[d], you won’t serve long, am I right? You, whatever you do, you must be yourself, be happy. You must happy for what you do. Any work also is the same.”

Opening the store is sheer hard work, as Ms Mardianah manages the store alone from cooking to displaying food. However, she is grateful that by being her own boss, she can decide when to work or when to close the stall early. When asked if she is happy now, she says:

“Ya, I am happy with myself. I am happy with my own choice as a own boss. Because you know working in a hotel, when it comes to Hari Raya all these ah, you know it is not easy for u to take many off day[s]. Because in hotel there is no shutdown... It is so much difference when you work yourself, be your own boss. You can close anytime you like, when you feel tired. If you ok, then you can extend. You see, if you feel tired, then just shut down la. Ah..you see, so much difference.”

Her menu of local Malay delights such as long tong, tahu goreng, mee rebus, are all well received in the hawker centre, especially during peak hours. Yet, they are priced only at $2.50, which is a rare sight considering soaring food prices these days.

As with many other hawkers we have interviewed, affordability is key at the hawker centre, she explains:

“For me, this market the fish are very expensive. That is why I don’t buy here. I bought it in Geylang where it is quite cheap lah. Ok, because for us ah, we cannot buy expensive things so. We cannot sell expensive things to customers. Ok mostly customers here are not only residents, they are workers here. So, you cannot afford to sell expensive. They will run away.”

Ms Mardianah is also optimistic about the future of hawker centres:

“I think there should be more hawkers. Because, in future, more youngsters don’t want to cook in the kitchen, at home. Am I right? Because you all are full-time working. You all concentrate on working and work and work and work. No time to cook yourself, right? All eating outside.”

Despite her optimism with regard to the future of hawker centres, she is more concerned if the younger people will remember hawker centres as fondly as she does, or if the hawker centre will continue to be a relevant space for newer generations.

“In the old days, it was so much different… New people like you, like my children, they are pampered...they think so fast and like nowadays, everything is like very advanced so they want more and more and more, you see. Do you think they want to go back? Go back like the old style? They won’t do, right? Like hawker all these, this is old style. MacDonald’s, KFC, this is the new style, am I right? Coffee Bean, Starbucks, this is new one. Last time got Coffee Buck [Coffee Bean]? No, right? Only got coffeeshop, right? You still meet in the coffeeshop, right?”

More precisely,

“I don’t think the new generation will recognise the hawker stall... Because everything is advanced. Even you can call KFC deliver, right? At your doorstep. Pizza Hut at your doorstep. Ok? You see, this is the fast one. Do you think they can recognise the hawker stall? If there is no hawker stall, can they remember, correct?”

She admits these trends are worrying, where the spirit of hawker centres will fade out with newer trends of fad foods or conglomerates taking over traditional hawker centres. When asked how does she feel about customer taking orders from machines, as part of a new “modern” hawker centre initiative like Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, she says:

“No, no, no. There is no communication. The bond between a seller and a customer is very important. That is one of it, ok? You just press “I want Mee Rebus.” I’m just like a robot. You also like a robot. You just came then you pay, then you makan, you go. I don’t know who you are. Ok, even 10 times also you come, I don’t still recognise you. Ok? There is no bond between the seller and the customer, you see? We are human, you know? You must have some communication, right?”

This bond extends beyond just customers, applying to supplier-hawker relationships as well, forming a community:

“This supplier also ah...they are also challenging about their price. Of course, everybody wants the cheaper one lah but it is reasonable lah. 10 or 20 cents so no problem people ask lah. He also want to get some profit lah. Ah you see. We give and take. As a hawker centre, when we buy things also, sometimes we must also give and take.”

Ms Mardianah, who dished out valuable insights along with her aromatic tahu goreng that Saturday, raised some very valid observations which seeks us to ponder: Will we remember our hawker centres in time to come? How will we keep the hawker centres a relevant space for future generations?