Singapore hawkers struggle to preserve street food scene
Evelyn Chen, for CNN • Updated 31st July 2017, http://www.cnn.com/travel/arti...-struggle/index.html
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Singapore (CNN) — Douglas Ng, 24, is a rare fresh-faced "hawkerpreneur" at Golden Mile Food Centre, a hawker center in Singapore.
The owner/chef of Fishball Story, Ng arrives to work during the dark hours of the morning to prep for the day.
He kneads fishball dough, prepares sambal-spiked chili paste and fries condiments like lard and shallots. Ng's fishballs are unique and legitimately old school. They're prepped exclusively with yellowtail fish and seasonings, without the addition of flour, the way most fishballs are made nowadays.
After one-and-a-half years working this space with many 12-hour days, Ng takes home just about S$1,000 ($712) each month. When he recently increased fishball prices from S$3 to S$3.50, he was met with a 40% plunge in business.
Editor's note: Since being interviewed for this story, Ng has temporarily closed his stall. He tells CNN he plans to reopen his business soon in a new location.