America's First Singaporean Hawker Center Opens Today in New York City

An idea that started with Anthony Bourdain and entrepreneur KF Seetoh becomes a reality in Midtown Manhattan today.

The first Singaporean street food hall (or hawker center, as they're commonly known) opens in New York City today.

Self-proclaimed street food guru and entrepreneur KF Seetoh just opened the 17-vendor market in Midtown Manhattan called Urban Hawker. It's meant to mirror the iconic, UNESCO-protected hawker centers in Singapore and is the first such hawker center in the United States. Many of its vendors are entering the country for the first time, including the folks behind coffee shop stall Kopifellas, the prawn noodle stall Prawnaholic Collections, and the Singaporean Indian Mamak’s Corner — and 11 of the 17 stalls will have chefs based permanently in New York City.

To bring the "authentic heritage hawker food of our grandparents in Singapore" to New York, as Seetoh told Travel + Leisure, he reached wide for the cuisines represented in Singapore, including Chinese, Malay, and Peranakan. Of Peranakan stall Daisy’s Dream, Seetoh said at a recent opening event that "their spice paste is the holy grail.” He's equally excited about the "new-fangled hipster burger inspired by Singapore flavors" at Ashes Burnnit, and Wok & Staple, a stand directly imported from Singapore and the inventors of chili crab, according to Seetoh. (“They’re the Russ & Daughters of Singapore," he quipped.) There's even a bar, aptly named Sling, serving up Singapore's national drink.

A close friend of Anthony Bourdain, Seetoh and Bourdain initially discussed opening this concept together. Bourdain was a hawker fare enthusiast, partially thanks to Seetoh; “When I took Bourdain for chicken rice the first time, I caught him, for once, dumbfounded," Seetoh said at Urban Hawker this week.

"The New York palate is way more dynamic and curious than we know," Seetoh said. "We are offering good food that many travelers swear by when they are in Singapore and at reasonably affordable prices — for Midtown in New York City."

But Urban Hawker is designed to be far more than just a grab-and-go dining option for Midtown workers and curious tourists. Seetoh meticulously curated the right mix of vendors to offer a culturally accurate representation of a classic Singapore hawker.

Really, the experience at Urban Hawker goes far beyond the food. In 2020, UNESCO added Singaporean hawker culture to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — the nomination was something Seetoh himself urged the National Heritage Board of Singapore to pursue. "The UNESCO inscription is not really about the food, but about how Singaporeans bond over this hawker food culture," Seetoh said. That culture is something visitors to Urban Hawker can experience some 9,500 miles away from Singapore.

"This batch of pioneering international hawkers will punch a lead into the world market and perhaps inspire a new generation of younger cooks to become the new soldiers that defend this food culture," Seetoh said. The food itself is representative of the nation at large. "Our flavors say who and what we are, and nobody shuns anybody’s food. The meld of the migrant flavors, and the creation of a 'third flavor,' gives Singapore an identity," he concluded.

Urban Hawker is located at 135 West 50th Street and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m, though specific stall hours vary slightly (some open at 11 a.m. for lunch). You can find the full list of vendors here.