Pinoy in Singapore

As much as I love hawker food, I’m never at ease with eating at just any Hawker place. That’s because I’m not really sure how they prepare and handle the food. There are definitely hawker places that serve delicious food which makes my “perceived” risk worth it for me. But then there are other places that are just BLAH. I just get so annoyed with myself for making myself eat there.

When I first came to Singapore, I had to get used to the idea of eating at Hawker centres because I had the impression it was dirty. Call me sensitive, but I’m the type of person who can’t stand eating in front of other stranger’s leftovers and dirty dishes. I also get uneasy eating with people who put their discarded food on the table or the tray instead of on a separate plate or on the edge of their own plate. The sight just completely wipes out my appetite. Fortunately, I’ve adapted quite well and gotten used to it – except for that one Hawker place behind my previous workplace where apparently ALL the dishes were just gathered by the faucet near the entrance waiting to be washed. I almost puked and I was wondering to myself if I was the only one bothered by it. And it was also beyond me how those dishes are going to be washed thoroughly that way. I’m sure some hawker centres wash the dishes the same way but I would rather not see it. After all, out of sight is out of mind.

Today when I went down to the Kopitiam just beneath our HDB block for lunch, I ordered at this mixed veggies stall and told the Auntie, I just wanted a small amount of rice. And though it seemed like she heard and understood me, she still came back with a big full cup of rice. So I told her I just wanted half of it, so she went back to her rice station and put half of my rice back. In the process my rice got out of its cup shape, and she simply but it back in shape using her hands. I wanted to scream “STOOOPP!!!” But I didn’t and just proceeded to point at the dishes I wanted to go with my rice. After which I then asked her how much. She said S$3.50, and I gave her a S$5 bill which she took with the same hand she shaped my rice with. The same hand she used to give me change. While eating, all I can think of is the Safeguard and the Dettol advertisement showing all that invisible germs in my rice.

That reminded me of my first time ever eating at a Hawker centre. It was at the Makan Sutra Food centre beside the Esplanade. At the time it was very busy and like I said, I was still trying to get used with all the dirty dishes around me. We sat at a recently vacated table and naturally it was still full of leftovers. Hubby left me at the table to order food for both us. So there I was alone looking around when this uncle came to our table and started busting our tables. While he was at it, he picked up one of the left over canned drink on the table and drank from it. I just pretended I didn’t see it but I think I couldn’t help but have this weirded out expression on my face. Then the uncle started wiping the table along with the bits of shrimp and what-have-yous with a wet cloth. He then squeezed the extra liquid out of the cloth and then wiped his face with the same cloth. At that point I think I was culture shocked. Then he proceeded to give our table a second wipe and left. A few minutes after my husband arrived with the food, the table still damp from uncle’s efforts. All I can think of was I definitely wouldn’t need any more salt or seasoning on my food because it’s all spread on the table whenever I feel like it. Appetizing…