\n<\/p>\n
An American with a <\/strong>deep appreciation for Singapore’s food scene has turned his admiration into miniature art \u2014 recreating iconic hawker stalls using custom lego builds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Images of his creations, shared on Reddit on Monday (April 21), showcase detailed miniature versions of well-known local food stalls, drawing praise from netizens for their craftsmanship and nostalgic appeal.<\/p>\n Speaking to AsiaOne, the creator, Matthew Hine, said he took care to ensure the builds were as accurate as possible, working from a combination of photos sourced online as well as pictures he took during his visits to Singapore.<\/p>\n Having visited the Republic multiple times over the last 25 years, Hine, 48, said in his Reddit post that one of his favourite aspects of the country is its vibrant hawker culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I decided I wanted to try to capture a bit of the magic in a couple of custom lego designs to put on my shelf at home, so I picked a couple of my personal favourite places\u2014Toast Hut for kopi and kaya toast, and Rahmath Cheese Prata for roti prata,” he wrote.<\/p>\n “I built the Toast Hut outlet at Old Airport Road before it moved to a bigger spot in Bukit Merah. The Rahmath set reflects the current Toa Payoh location, where they’re still going strong.”\u00a0<\/p>\n During a recent trip, Hine also said that he met the stall owners and presented them with the lego sets as a gesture of appreciation.\u00a0<\/p>\n He described the experience as meaningful, noting that the owners were warm and welcoming.<\/p>\n Netizens praised Hine’s skills, with some saying that it was thoughtful of him to give them away to the stall owners.<\/p>\n “This is extremely well done. You captured the essence of the hawkers, and giving them away is definitely not a small token! You are very generous,” said one user.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another added: “Very creative. I hope our museums can consider your masterpieces when there is a similar themed exhibition coming up.”<\/p>\n In his post, Hine said that the project was purely a personal endeavour and not for commercial purposes, and shared that parts lists and instructions for the builds are also available on his website.<\/p>\n Hine told AsiaOne that he has always been impressed by Singapore’s cultural diversity, drawing comparisons with his experience in the US.<\/p>\n “I’m from the US and eating out is so dominated by big franchises, restaurants, big menus, always the drive to scale up. By comparison, hawkers often have just one or two people making a single dish, with simple ingredients so they have to choose the ingredients carefully and get really good at making that thing very well,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that this results in a “perfection of craft” that he has rarely seen in the US outside of high-end fine dining.<\/p>\n “I could endlessly watch prata flipping at Rahmath or Toast Hut’s special kopi blend being brewed!”<\/p>\n [[nid:567336]]<\/p>\n xingying.koh@asiaone.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n