Singapore's hawker culture is marking five years since its inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2025.
The Singapore Hawkers' Celebration and Awards 2025 is the annual platform where hawkers come together to celebrate their achievements, introduced in 2021 by The Federation of Merchants' Associations, Singapore (FMAS).
5 years, SG60
This year's edition is especially significant as it coincides with Singapore's SG60 celebrations and the 5th anniversary of Hawker Culture's inscription on the UNESCO list. The theme for the year is “Honouring Hawkers, Celebrating a Nation”.
Speaking at the event, Minister of State Goh Hanyan said hawkers have been a huge part of Singapore's nation-building journey for the past 60 years.
Where it started
Hawker culture was added to the UNESCO list on Dec. 16, 2020, becoming Singapore's first inscription on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The country had led a campaign to have the practice recognised, joining the likes of Belgian beer and coffee culture in Turkey on the list.
Festival island-wide
To mark the anniversary, NEA and NHB launched the SG HawkerFest 2025, running across 20 hawker centres from Dec. 13 to Jan. 4, 2026.
Activities included heritage food trails, live cooking demonstrations by veteran hawkers, and a travelling exhibition on the history of hawker centres that stopped at Maxwell Food Centre, Old Airport Road, and Tiong Bahru Market.
NHB Deputy Chief Executive Alvin Tan said the festival was designed to let both Singaporeans and visitors “taste the stories” behind the food.
“Hawker culture isn't just about the dish on the table. It's about the person who's been making it the same way for 40 years.” — Alvin Tan, NHB Deputy Chief Executive
Awards for heritage & enterprise
FMAS gave out awards in three categories this year: heritage hawkers who have kept traditional recipes alive, enterprising hawkers who have found new ways to run their businesses, and hawker mentors who have guided new hawkers.
The Heritage Hawker Award went to Tan Ah Beng, 68, who has run a fishball noodle stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre since 1979. The public also voted Chomp Chomp Food Centre as the winner of the Favourite Hawker Centre Award.
Still a work in progress
There are around 124 hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) island-wide, with a complete meal typically costing between S$4 and S$8.
Goh said government agencies including NEA, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and the Singapore Police Force have worked to simplify the process of becoming a hawker.
Among the newer hawkers is Rachel Ng, 26, who left a job in finance last year to open a laksa stall at Tiong Bahru Market.
“My grandmother used to tell me the same story every time we ate laksa together. I wanted to be the one telling it now.” — Rachel Ng
