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Culinary purity has never really existed. Many dishes we consider local specialities draw on traditions beyond our shores: Hainanese chicken rice has roots in Hainan, while roti prata derives from Indian paratha. Over time, such foods adapted to local tastes and became part of everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n A dish need not be radically transformed to acquire local significance. Hainanese Western food, for instance, is a familiar fixture in many kopitiams. A plate of chicken chop with fries, baked beans and brown sauce might resemble a meal in the West. Yet, for many Singaporeans, it is a familiar taste of home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The same could be said of a more recent addition to Singapore\u2019s food scene: mala xiang guo, a dish originating in China that has become a familiar sight in hawker centres. Its foreign origins do not make Singaporeans’ attachment to it any less real.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These examples expose the difficulty of drawing a firm boundary between local and foreign food. Curation based on a fixed idea of authenticity assumes that there is a definitive version of hawker food, and risks becoming an exercise in deciding which parts of Singapore’s culinary history deserve to be preserved, and which foods are not entitled to belong.<\/span><\/p>\n In response to Mr Leong’s concerns in 2021, then Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor argued that Singapore\u2019s cosmopolitan nature meant hawker centres would naturally offer a wide variety of foods. The priority, she said, was to ensure they continued providing affordable, delicious food in a clean environment.<\/span><\/p>\n But hawker centres are more than a source of cheap, tasty meals. They \u2013 and the dishes that are synonymous with them \u2013 are an expression of Singapore’s shared identity and collective memory. The recognition of Singapore\u2019s hawker culture by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2020 underscores the importance of keeping it alive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFOREIGN FOODS ARE NOT THE REAL THREAT<\/span><\/h2>\n
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