UNESCO Recognizes Singapore's Low-Cost Food Culture
2020-12-21
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1Singapore's tradition of eating out in places called hawker centers is now recognized by the United Nations for its cultural importance.
2A hawker is a person who sells food or goods and advertises by shouting at people walking by on the street.
3Hawkers are an important part of Singaporean culture.
4Open-air eating areas where hawkers sell their goods are very popular.
5Famous chefs, such as Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay have praised them.
6And they appear in popular films like 'Crazy Rich Asians'.
7On Wednesday, the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, added the city's "hawker culture," to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
8Singapore sought to have hawker culture added to the list about two years ago.
9Now that it has been recognized, Singapore must provide a report every six years to UNESCO.
10The report must show efforts the city-state has made to save and support its hawker culture.
11"These centers serve as 'community dining rooms' where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner," UNESCO said.
12In the 1970s, Singapore cleaned up its streets so the city moved street hawkers to new eating centers.
13These areas were part of an effort to improve the island.
14Now, the centers offer many different low-cost meals for local people and provide a pleasing social setting.
15The 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians showed its stars enjoying meals at a famous night market.
16Some sellers even received Michelin stars from a famous restaurant rating system for their meals costing only a few dollars.
17But, Singapore's hawker culture does face difficulties.
18The average age of a hawker in Singapore is 60 years old.
19Younger Singaporeans now want to work in offices.
20They are less interested in working in small restaurants.
21The COVID-19 health crisis also hurt sales, preventing foreign visitors from eating out.
22During the first few months of this year, restrictions on movement and social distancing also stopped locals.
23I'm Armen Kassabian.
1Singapore's tradition of eating out in places called hawker centers is now recognized by the United Nations for its cultural importance. 2A hawker is a person who sells food or goods and advertises by shouting at people walking by on the street. 3Hawkers are an important part of Singaporean culture. Open-air eating areas where hawkers sell their goods are very popular. Famous chefs, such as Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay have praised them. And they appear in popular films like 'Crazy Rich Asians'. 4On Wednesday, the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, added the city's "hawker culture," to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Singapore sought to have hawker culture added to the list about two years ago. 5Now that it has been recognized, Singapore must provide a report every six years to UNESCO. The report must show efforts the city-state has made to save and support its hawker culture. 6"These centers serve as 'community dining rooms' where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner," UNESCO said. 7In the 1970s, Singapore cleaned up its streets so the city moved street hawkers to new eating centers. These areas were part of an effort to improve the island. Now, the centers offer many different low-cost meals for local people and provide a pleasing social setting. 8The 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians showed its stars enjoying meals at a famous night market. Some sellers even received Michelin stars from a famous restaurant rating system for their meals costing only a few dollars. 9But, Singapore's hawker culture does face difficulties. The average age of a hawker in Singapore is 60 years old. Younger Singaporeans now want to work in offices. They are less interested in working in small restaurants. 10The COVID-19 health crisis also hurt sales, preventing foreign visitors from eating out. During the first few months of this year, restrictions on movement and social distancing also stopped locals. 11I'm Armen Kassabian. 12Chen Lin at Reuters reported this story. Armen Kassabian adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 13We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 14______________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16chef - n. a professional cook who leads a restaurant 17intangible - n. not made of physical material, something that cannot be touched but is important 18heritage -n. the traditions and beliefs that are part of the history of a group of people 19diverse -adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other 20dining - n. the process of having a meal