Singapore
Following a two-and-a-half-month campaign, City Energy honoured 12 outstanding hawkers in its annual City Hawker Food Hunt, Singapore’s longest-running hawker food contest.
Aside from celebrating Singapore’s favourite hawker dishes and stalls, this year’s competition also featured disappearing hawker food and recognised young hawkers who entered the industry in the last five years.
Guest of Honour, Member of Parliament, Jurong GRC, Mr Shawn Huang, graced the awards ceremony this morning at Taman Jurong Community Club.
In the favourite hawker food category, winners were selected from a diverse list of eight popular dishes, including Chicken Rice, Mee Rebus, Biryani, Laksa, Char Kway Teow, Indian Rojak, Nasi Lemak and Hokkien Mee. The awarded hawker stalls are:
- Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
- Inspirasi
- Haji Haniffa M-Ansari Eating House
- 传统天香叻沙
- Outram Park Fried Kway Teow
- Fazil Muslim Food Stall
- Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak
- Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodles
The Chinese-style mutton soup at Hougang Jing Jia Mutton Soup, owned by Mr Teo Boon Chuen, was named as the food most at risk of disappearing in Singapore. Located at Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, the stall offers a variety of hearty mutton soups with a comforting herbal flavour. This dish is rare due to its dwindling popularity among Singaporeans.
Lastly, three young hawkers were celebrated for their innovative spirit and entrepreneurial zeal: Mr Jonathan Tan from Kin Men Seng Heng, Mr Alvin Ng from New World Congee, and Mr Andy Tan from Lao Chen Ji.
Located at Amoy Food Centre, the four-month-old Kin Men Seng Heng stands out as the first halal-certified braised Hokkien duck stall in Singapore.
New World Congee at Marine Parade Food Centre serves velvety Cantonese-style porridge topped with a variety of ingredients such as chicken, scallops, minced meat and fish.
Lao Chen Ji at Holland Drive Market and Food Centre specialises in juicy meatball and fishball soup, alongside Yong Tau Foo, kolo mee, and dumpling noodles.
Co-organised with Shin Min Daily News and supported by the National Environment Agency, City Hawker Food Hunt aims to spotlight Singapore’s beloved hawker culture, preserving and promoting the nation’s rich culinary heritage.
Following a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, this year’s City Hawker Food Hunt marked its 13th year of honouring the best hawker food and stalls islandwide with more than 4,000 votes cast by members of the public between 4 July and 15 September 2023.
Each winner of the favourite hawker food category was awarded $500 cash, a medal and a certificate to display at their stall. The winner for “Disappearing Hawker Food” received a certificate and medal, while the three young hawkers were granted three months’ worth of gas rebates from City Energy (capped at 2,500 kWh monthly), along with a certificate and medal.
Mr Perry Ong, Chief Executive Officer of City Energy, said, “Today, we celebrate not just the winners, but all hawkers who are the unsung heroes of our food culture.
“Our support for City Hawker Food Hunt, Singapore’s longest-running hawker food contest, reflects our commitment to preserving and promoting our culinary heritage. The overwhelming response from the public inspires us to continue championing hawkers islandwide, ensuring their stories, flavours and traditions endure for generations to come.”
With over half of Singapore’s hawker centres using piped town gas, Mr. Ong highlighted the pivotal role of hawkers as significant stakeholders for City Energy. Besides supporting Singapore’s goal of achieving sustainability through the increased reliance on lower carbon solutions, piped gas is also the preferred energy choice due to “wok hei” – the distinctive smoky flavour gas cooking imparts to dishes for a more delectable taste.
