Man gifts Lego builds to hawker stall owners as keepsakes
While the Merlion might be the most iconic landmark in Singapore, it is its hawker stalls that have captured the hearts of visitors to the Lion City.
One visitor, 48-year-old Matthew Hine, was so enraptured by the food and culture that he was inspired to recreate the stalls using Lego.
On 21 April, he shared photos of his creations on Reddit where it quickly grabbed the attention of Singaporeans online.
Source: Reddit
Lego builds include mini hawker centre tables
In his Reddit post, Matthew, who is from the United States (US), said that he has developed a fondness for Singapore culture, especially its hawker centres.
“I decided I wanted to try to capture a bit of the magic in a couple of custom Lego designs,” Matthew wrote.
To get started, he picked his two favorite spots on the island: Toast Hut and Rahmath Cheese Prata.
“To try to get the details right, I worked from a bunch of photos from Google and some I took myself when visiting,” he added.
As part of the post, Matthew shared 11 photos of the two hawker stall Lego recreations — including the cooks and an accompanying table for each.
Sharing his love of Singapore and its culture
Speaking to MS News, Matthew shared exactly how Singapore managed to carve its own spot in his heart.
“I’ve been visiting Singapore for 25 years and even though I didn’t grow up in Singapore, sitting down at one of my favourite hawkers centres feels so comforting, like home somehow,” he said.
Matthew was especially impressed by the diversity of culture and seeing how people bonded over food.
Image courtesy of Matthew Hine
He compared Singapore’s food culture to his own in the US.
