A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex commonly found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. They were built to provide a more sanitary alternative to mobile hawker carts and contain many stalls that sell different varieties of affordable meals. Dedicated tables and chairs are usually provided for diners.
Such centres are usually managed by a governing authority which maintains the facility and rents out stores for hawkers to ply their goods.
By countries or regions
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, most cooked food centres (熟食中心; or cooked food markets, 熟食市場) are either located in market complexes of residential districts, or as a standalone structure (this being the case in most industrial areas), with only a few exceptions (e.g. Mong Kok Cooked Food Market is located in the lower levels of Langham Place Hotel). Cooked food centres are managed by Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Most of the stalls from hawker centres are converted from former dai pai dong (cooked food stalls) by strict regulations and management; the Hong Kong Government regarded the provision of cooked food centres as a way to eliminate traditional dai pai dongs from local streets in the 1970s. During the industrial boom in the 1960s and 1970s, the government also built cooked food markets in industrial areas to serve the catering needs of the working class in major industrial centres such as Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Fo Tan.
Stalls in cooked food centres usually provide local cuisine, with those selling exotic delicacies a minority.
Malaysia
During the 1950s, the British were concerned about the economic influence of the hawkers and kept them under surveillance. In response to the government's plan to curb the activities of the Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association, its members threatened to take up arms and participate in the Malaysian Emergency against the government, leading the latter to back down.
In the next decade, the association became part of the system and actively promoted the hawkers' interests where necessary. By the 1960s, however, the authorities began to crack down on illegal activities and unlicensed hawkers. Health and safety considerations also became paramount to the authorities as the hawkers had little sanitary considerations and frequently occupied the streets with their wares, even after being fined.
In 1967, the first two hawker centers in Malaysia were built in Kuala Lumpur as part of a programme to improve hygiene standards and clear the roads of streetside stores. While initially reluctant, the hawkers eventually moved to these facilities. However, many continue to operate in other areas, with operation in hawker centres being one of seven types of hawker licences issued by Kuala Lumpur.
In the state of Penang, most hawkers were also moved into fixed locations as hygiene and traffic concerns grew. Some temporary or mobile fixtures remain, however licences to do so can only be renewed, with no new licences for mobile hawking being offered. Moving to fixed locations is often unpopular with hawkers, who fear losing customers and the higher fees needed. Labour shortages in the 1980s and 1990s led to many hawker centres being staffed by foreigners. In 2014, after it was reported that in 68 hawker centres 119 foreign cooks were identified, a law banning foreign cooks was proposed and gathered support, finally being passed in 2016. This was purported as a move to protect Penang's heritage, and 13 dishes were declared by the government as heritage dishes; 10 were of Chinese origin, 2 of Tamil origin, and 1 of Malay origin. Foreigners were still able to work as assistants, or as cooks in restaurants.
Cooks working in hawker centres are mainly older individuals, challenging the sustainability of the business. Hawking is viewed, including by many hawkers, as low-status and low-paying. The COVID-19 pandemic led to further challenges. The Penang government pledged to restore the Gurney Drive hawker centre, considered the most well-known, which had previously relied on both domestic and international tourists. Overall business in Penang's hawker centres decreased by 50%, as national regulations limited their opening hours.