October 31, 2018, 11:22 PM 
All these talk about preserving and championing hawker culture and the rich heritage of Singaporean food has brought out all quarters.
And the one stakeholder Singaporeans should hear from is definitely hawkers themselves.
Because what is the one thing hawkers want to say to Singaporeans if they could put out the message?
Appreciate the hawkers and do not complain about paying S$4 for a bowl or plate of food made from the heart.
Hawker point-of-view
This is the view put forth by Li Ruifang, a third-generation hawker who sells prawn noodles and who has become the face of the rare, but new breed of millennial hawkers.
Her point is that there is only how cheap hawker food can get if Singaporeans only knew what went into making it.
Moreover, Singaporeans should not be complaining about paying S$4 for prawn noodles when they are splurging for many other things in life.
And also, hawkers have their own interests they need to protect, and they should not have to bear the burden of feeding the less well-off transferred to them.
This is her full post:
You know what irks me??
Edited so as not to offend smokers only ??(Max Yeo) People who smokes, drinks, willing to splurge on cars, holidays and complain that my $4 prawn noodles is expensive.
C’mon, we have to wake up early to prepare this bowl of prawn noodles with prawns and pork ONLY ?
And to the social enterprise who want us hawkers to sell cheap, why should we think of the less fortunate? Isn’t it the government who are supposed to help them?
I have a family to feed.
I have to pay 5 employees ( including myself)
I’m not here to do charity.
Don’t get me wrong, I still collect $3 from those cleaners. I still give out free noodles for a man who’s on wheelchair and ask for free food.
But it’s not feasible for us to sell cheap to help these people right? How about us?
Food cost are rising.
Water/electrical bills are rising.
Conservancy charges has increased from $150 to $210 over this 4 years that I’m at Tekka.
So my point is, please appreciate hawkers more.
Please don’t take advantages of us.
Take what you can finish and prevent wastage.
Thank you.
Risk-taking
Li, 34, has been in the hawker trade the last four years.
She runs the 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles at Tekka Centre with her parents.
She has put in the sweat and tears to establish herself in this cutthroat industry that rarely takes hostages.
If you cannot make it, you go broke and you are out.
Li knows all about the trials and tribulations of running a hawker stall because she came into industry wet behind the ears with zero experience and had to learn everything from scratch.
Starts work at 2.30am
Li starts work at 2.30am almost every day.
She got into the trade as she did not want to see the family recipe die.
Li's grandfather sold prawn noodles in Whampoa during the 1950s.
Li’s father took over in the 1970s and refined the recipe that is still used today.
In 2014, Li opened the second stall in Tekka Food Centre with the support of her father, while her aunt took over the original stall in Whampoa.
Took time to train
Li is a university graduate who did not have kitchen experience prior to setting up shop.
She gave up a stable job in a multinational corporation.
It was only after one year of being in the business was she confident that she was getting things down pat.
Today, 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles is one of the most popular stalls in Tekka Centre.
Li was even featured in an episode of the late Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown programme.
She was also visited by three-Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottura and his wife, and two-Michelin-star chef Julien Royer.
Prep work
Making prawn noodles is hard work.
Her routine has been talked about by Channel News Asia.
The first thing Li has to do is to boil and peel a mountain of prawns.
Once peeled, the shells are put back into a huge pot of hot water. Pork bones are added and the broth is allowed to slowly simmer.
Li only insists on using sea-caught prawns called sua lor and ang kar.
It takes about 2.5 hours of cooking and preparation before the stall is ready for business.
Slicing chilli alone takes 20 minutes.
Li, who is married, works 15-hour days and has to be in bed by 8pm.
As a result, she has limited time with her two-year-old daughter.
She misses out on some of her daughter's life.
Since giving birth, Li has shut the stall for an extra day each week, so that she can spend more time with her family.
By the time she is ready to make her first sale at 6am, there are customers in the queue.
To give her some extra free time, Li has engaged a company to collect and wash the bowls for the stall.
The money spent is a small trade-off for being able to close the stall early, get more rest, and spend time with her family.
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Top photo via VisitSingapore
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