do you really think food is expensive in singapore?

[globalcookie]

Originally Posted by Spakase

I am referring to the fact that hawker center food here is generally badly prepared.
...you can see they run the noodle through hot and cold water.
...In JB, you try wan tan mee from ordinary street stalls you'd be surprised at the better quality. It's not just the money, it's the quality, the heart put into the cooking. Our hawker food just don't cut it.
...The reason why they are cheaper in Msia is because rentals are escalating in Sg, costs of living are high in Sg therefore hawkers also need to earn eat, and the taxes on transportation in Sg is sky high. In Msia, they subsidise petrol, in Sg there is a tax on petrol.

Well, i do agree. Compare early 90s to today, 90% or more of the hawkers serve crappy food, but we got to eat to fill the stomach. Chomp Chomp... i stop gg there since the mid 90s. Standard isn't the same since

Preparation method, ingredients, cooking style, everything, all suffered. Remember how fried carrot cake was done? The hawker use his ladle to slowly chop/cut up the 'kueh' into bits, before frying it.

Wanton noodles... e wanton is pathetic. HK's wanton is what we call wanton. Singapore... it's like, just e skin.

Of cos the problem is, these hawkers are only out to make a living, a fortune. They don't care if their food is that good or not, so long as they make their money.

Cost is definitely a problem. It robs these hawkers the dignity of being a hawker, of serving good food. There is no pride in what they do.

But last bit... the M'sian gov said they subsidized petrol... but they are an oil producing country, so... i think e word subsidized is, they just don't tax RON95 grade petrol.

haha true. Also most food here don't have enough vege. Irony is vege don cost as much as meat. I like to go JB for good food, coz at the end of the day it's value for money. Can pay a lot,yet food is not up to standard.
Nowadays a lot of chinamen operating food stalls, read that in China they disguised rat meat and pass it off as pigeon, better be careful when eating in Sg. Nothing is safe here anymore.

[Ariesdram]

Originally Posted by Spakase

I am referring to the fact that hawker center food here is generally badly prepared. Eg Wan Ton mee, we see this sold everywhere but few tastes as good as the wan tan mee you find in Lavender or Chomp Chomp. If you study the way the Lavender & Chomp Chomp cooks prepare the noodle, you can see they run the noodle through hot and cold water. But most places simply throw everything into to boil and serve. The difference is the texture and springiness of the noodle. And the sauce, world of difference. In JB, you try wan tan mee from ordinary street stalls you'd be surprised at the better quality. It's not just the money, it's the quality, the heart put into the cooking. Our hawker food just don't cut it. The reason why they are cheaper in Msia is because rentals are escalating in Sg, costs of living are high in Sg therefore hawkers also need to earn eat, and the taxes on transportation in Sg is sky high. In Msia, they subsidise petrol, in Sg there is a tax on petrol.

In Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and many countries, many food business are family run/own and the recipes/unique method of cooking are passed down the generation. Not everyone in these countries get to further themselves academically proper so it's easy to just 'take over' once the folks retired.

Here in Singapore, most get a decent chance to get that piece of paper. Once the folks retired, they close shop and gone too are the recipes/authentic/unique ways of their own cooking. This has happened on a large scale in the last 10-20 years or so and you can see those chap chai peng/mee pok tah stalls that sprung up are newbies/youngsters, most of whom happen to be malaysians who are engaged to come here to take up these cooking jobs because it is obvious that very few Singaporeans want to or even can see that as a proper career. And Malaysians come here to just make a tidy sum and then balek kampung, so can count on them to anyhow serve you a bowl of noodles since it's not their own business, no reason to work so hard anyway.

The gahment's policy to upgrade hawker centre just happen to be the nail in the coffin. Many older generation hawkers took the chance to retire paving the way for commercialisation for hawker food galore and then we were 'forced' to eat at the the Koufus and kopitiams who can't be bothered to serve you authentic food, all they wanted is just to make your $$.

So that is the sad story of Singapore's hawker scene and that's why in my opinion Singaporean is willing to travel the distance to eat something authentic and even queue up for it because they are just harder to come by now.....truly private limited.

[Occellatus]

I find that food in singapore is generally cheap. That is if u r not a fussy eater.

No one will go hungry here if you work.

many food business are family run/own and the recipes/unique method of cooking are passed down the generation. Not everyone in these countries get to further themselves academically proper so it's easy to just 'take over' once the folks retired.

I think our hawkers here got nothing passed down except the urge to make money, not that they can make a lot becok lousy food cannot sell unless they in a strategic location. that why rental go up sky high in good location.
But food is mostly lousy stuff badly cooked by hawkers who only interested in make money.

The hawkers who really make money to buy Mercedes Benz are ones who have the recipes our bro mention, I believe they hold the key to good food in SG.

But who control the licence to allow hawkers to do biz? Who can make a diff? I bet you our garment never think of this at all.

[titan power]

Nowadays coffeeshop food priced like food court.

Even hawker centre also difficult to find 2.50 dish

[globalcookie]

Originally Posted by Ariesdram

Here in Singapore, most get a decent chance to get that piece of paper. Once the folks retired, they close shop and gone too are the recipes/authentic/unique ways of their own cooking.

Sometimes it's not about receipe that wasn't passed down. It's more an issue of these younger hawkers wanting to cut cost, or got too lazy.

I used to love the soya bean milk in Alexandra Village hawker (facing a bakery shop). The old man explained to me, to cook good soya bean milk, must cook over small fire, let it cook slowly. That's where you get the soya bean aroma (mildly burn taste/smell). After he passed on, his son (you look at him, you can tell he is lazy) took over and the taste is even worst than any other stalls.

Originally Posted by Spakase

But who control the licence to allow hawkers to do biz? Who can make a diff? I bet you our garment never think of this at all.

They don't bother. To them, grant them license, make it compulsory to take hygeine course. It's not in their interest to bother.

[tweety bird]

Originally Posted by titan power

Nowadays coffeeshop food priced like food court.

Even hawker centre also difficult to find 2.50 dish

Seah Imm Hawker still can find a handful of stall selling at $2.50

[RaCe]

Stop guessing liao guys. My noodle stall in town, rental and gas and electric and water, about $12k a month. Selling noodles at $3.50 a bowl.

Y local food getting bad? My food court have 8 stalls. Mine is the only 1 runned by locals!

Originally Posted by globalcookie

Subsidized hawker stall rental are for the original tenants, usually quite old by now. These hawkers either give up their stalls (at a take over fee) or sublet it out at a good profit.

Even if the same original tenant were to be operating his stall now, he wouldn't sell his food at the same old price, eg $2/bowl of noodles, when everyone around him are selling higher. He also want to make more money.

So, is it cheaper to cook and dine at home? If the family size is small, unlikely.

The hawker stall sub let and stall selling without transparency issues should be addressed immediately. New laws should be introduced.