Hawker Culture Goes Digital In Digimuse Hawker Culture Edition

“Kueh tutu” – a snowy-white, pillow-like rice flour cake served steaming hot on a blade of pandan leaf – is a childhood favourite of local chef Willin Low. Typically made with coconut or peanut fillings, the choices are far more diverse these days with “new-age” options such as dark chocolate, strawberry and even blueberry! In the latest edition of Digimuse Hawker Culture, Singaporeans are encouraged to contribute creatively to help our hawker culture go digital!

Digimuse Hawker Culture – Uncovering Histories & Stories Behind Hawker Heritage & Food

For Chef Low, the local snack is associated with fond childhood memories of his parents buying him “kueh tutu” from pushcart hawkers at Chinese opera shows. Hence, when presented with a chance to celebrate an aspect of our well-loved Hawker Culture and food heritage, he jumped at the chance to uncover the history and stories behind this humble snack.

From early October, Singaporeans can enjoy an Instagram video series produced by Chef Low, which will take followers on a journey exploring how “kueh tutu” was popularised by the hawkers behind Tan’s Tutu Coconut Cake, paying tribute to our everyday hawker heroes. He will also be sharing his own memories of this popular local snack, and how it has evolved over the years. Chef Willin Low said, “Hawker Culture is something very close to my heart, and it is our hawkers like Ms Tan Bee Hua from Tan’s Tutu Coconut Cake, who have worked so hard over many years to keep it alive.”

Digimuse Hawker Culture – Contribute Ideas To Celebrate Hawker Culture

Chef Low’s Instagram video series is an example of initiatives the DigiMuse Presents: Hawker Culture Edition hopes to initiate and support. With Singapore’s ongoing bid to nominate Hawker Culture in Singapore to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the impending results in end 2020, the National Heritage Board (NHB) hopes to encourage local creatives, including writers, illustrators, photographers, designers and everyday Singaporeans, to contribute innovative ideas to celebrate our Hawker Culture that can be translated into bite-sized digital content.

Selected proposals from the open call, held between 31 August and 25 September 2020, will be awarded up to S$5,000 to see their projects through in collaboration with NHB, and have them launched and shared on NHB‘s websites and social media channels, such as the official Instagram page for Hawker Culture in Singapore – @SGHawkerCulture.

The submitted proposals can choose to focus on any of the following key aspects of Hawker Culture in Singapore:

• Hawker centres as community dining rooms

• Hawker culture as a reflection of Singapore’s multicultural society

• A thriving culture in an urban environment that is constantly evolving

• Appreciation for hawkers, who have dedicated their lives to master the culinary skills to our favourite hawker dishes

Mr Yeo Kirk Siang, Director, Heritage Research and Assessment, NHB, said, “With DigiMuse Presents: Hawker Culture Edition, we wanted to give Singaporeans a chance to bring to life aspects of Hawker Culture that they personally love, and share these with Singaporeans digitally so that more can enjoy them. Our Hawker Culture is so multi-faceted – from our beloved hawker food to our hawker heroes, or even our favourite seat at our neighbourhood hawker centre. We welcome projects that feature these diverse aspects of our Hawker Culture in a lead-up to the announcement of the UNESCO nomination results in end 2020.”

Digimuse Hawker Culture – Support Our Hawker Culture Today

For more information, such as participation details on the DigiMuse Presents: Hawker Culture Edition, please visit https://go.gov.sg/digimuse. Singaporeans are also encouraged to continue to show their support for Hawker Culture and thank our hawkers by penning a thank you message on the SGUnited Digital Appreciation Board and hashtagging #ourhawkerculture, #thankyouhawkers when they post on social media. We are ending off with one of our favourite hawker photo below.

All other photos used from PSXCHARMAINE STUDIO