Hawker Centres of Singapore Stamps

SingPost recently released a commemorative set of stamps about Singapore's hawker centres. Four of the more well know hawker centres are featured: East Coast, Maxwell, Newton, and Lau Pa Sat. Of course Singapore has plenty of other hawkers, e.g. Tekka hawker, Fengshan hawker etc etc but I guess the designers chose these four to be featured.

This issue of stamps caught my attention for two reasons, 1) hawker centres are part of the Singapore lifestyle, and 2) the stamps designers are actually students from the design class in Nanyang Polytechnic. Let me elaborate further.

Hawker centres are a way of life in Singapore. They are often a source of cheap and good food. In fact, many hawker centres have long queues of people waiting as much as an hour just to get their plate / bowl of favourite dishes. Increasingly when food courts and restaurants start to replace hawker centres, and when older hawkers decide not to continue their trade (e.g. after hawker centres are renovated / upgraded), hawker centres may one day disappear into history. So I thought it is appropriate to commemorate their existence somehow. (Added: a picture of Lau Pa Sat - note the somewhat unique architectural design)

I am also glad that design students from poly (Leon Yeo Hai Tian & Jean Ng Ting Fong) have been asked to craft this issue of stamps. Philately has often been thought of a hobby only for the retired or the primary school going kids. Thus it is good to involve those in the teens as much as we can. Of course, publishing the works of design students is also a great way to recognise the budding talents in local design scene.

So for those who are interested in our Singapore hawker centres, do buy a copy of these hawker centres stamps (each stamp selling for only $0.80 while the presentation pack cost $5), and enjoy a meal at these hawker centres!