There’s no arguing that being a hawker is a laborious task, but we rarely get to see just how taxing the job can be. A moving sight which a customer witnessed at a Holland Drive hawker centre recently could change that.
As she was there sometime in the evening, she managed to catch sight of a hawker in the final hours of her day in time for her stall’s closure.
Evidently fatigued from all the work she had done, she cut quite a pitiful sight.
Facebook user Ms Lee was at the Blk 44 Holland Drive Market & Food Centre on Wednesday (22 Sep) when she saw something that tugged at her heartstrings.
A lady working at Shima’s Kitchen, a nasi padang stall, was resting at a table with her body slumped forward.
Resting her forehead on her hands and seemingly taking a quick shut-eye, the lady’s exhaustion was startlingly apparent.
Perhaps heartbroken by the sight, Ms Lee said that she approached the lady and gave her a gentle pat on the back for comfort.
Since the lady was working at a nasi padang stall, Ms Lee raised the common example of people complaining about the prices of such dishes.
To this, she countered with the argument that most nasi padang dishes require longer cooking time and complex rempahs or spice pastes as their bases.
Therefore, hawkers require much more time, effort, and resources to prepare the extensive spread of dishes at their stalls.
As Ms Lee put it, “the amount of work for a plate of Nasi Padang is literally blood & sweat”.
She thus asked for people to stop complaining or bargaining with hawkers, who are already charging lower prices than most other eateries.
Ms Lee also recommended food from the lady’s stall, which she claimed to be of Michelin quality and often draws quite a queue. If you’d like to check it out, here are the deets:
Shima’s Kitchen
Address: Holland Drive Market & Food Centre, #02-12, 44 Holland Dr, Singapore 270044
Opening hours: Mon-Sat, 6.30am-2.30pm. Closed on Sundays.
Nearest MRT: Holland Village & Buona Vista Stations
Getting up at the crack of dawn every day to cook up large amounts of food for customers is something not many of us can manage.
Kudos really go to our hawkers for dedicating themselves to this hustle and keeping our food traditions alive.
Let’s continue to support our local food sellers and help their businesses thrive.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and Google Maps.
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