Maxwell Food Centre

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Maxwell Food Centre
麦士威熟食中心 (Chinese)
Pusat Makanan Maxwell (Malay)
மேக்ஸ்வெல் உணவு மையம் (Tamil)
Maxwell Food Centre
Former namesMaxwell Market (1928–1987)
Kim Hua Market (1928–1987)
Maxwell Road Food Centre (1987–2000)
General information
Location Downtown Core, Singapore
Address1 Kadayanallur Street
069184
Coordinates 1°16′49″N103°50′41″E / 1.2803315°N 103.8447473°E / 1.2803315; 103.8447473
Opened17 November 1928 (1928-11-17)
Renovated15 May 2001 (2001-05-15)
Cost S$115,021
Renovation cost S$3.2 million
Landlord National Environment Agency
Technical details
Floor area3,365.392 m2 (36,224.78 sq ft)
Renovating team
Architect(s)ID Architects
Other information
Number of stores103
Public transit access TE18  Maxwell
 DT18  Telok Ayer
 DT19  NE4  Chinatown
 EW15  Tanjong Pagar

Maxwell Food Centre is a hawker centre located in Tanjong Pagar, at the junction of Maxwell Road and South Bridge Road. [1] The hawker centre is part of the Downtown Core planning area.

Contents

Maxwell is one of the most popular hawker centres in Singapore, featuring 103 hawkers selling a wide variety of local and international cuisines. [2] Popular dishes include ham chim peng , ngo hiang, and herbal broths made from home-brewed recipes. [3]

History

Maxwell Market (1928–1987)

Built on a Chinese burial ground, construction of the market began in 1927 at an initial cost of S$ 103,516. [1] [4] [5] In July 1928, a tender notice was published for the construction of stalls within the market. [6] The tender costed an additional S$ 11,505, bringing the total construction cost to S$ 115,021. [1]

Opened on 17 November 1928 as Maxwell Market, it received thousands of applications for rental of the stalls within the market. However, as the municipality anticipated that many of the applicants were going to resell their stalls at a higher price to others, each licence allocated was unable to be transferred. The opening of Maxwell also attracted many unlicenced hawkers, causing stallholders to be unable to make any profits. [1] The market was also known as Kim Hua Market. [7]

As such, the total rent collected in 1928 was only S$ 3,545, and the market remained empty as many stallholders decided to give up their stalls and continue operating in the vicinity, where they did not have to pay rent or be bounded by the market regulations. [1]

To increase tenancy in Maxwell, a by-law banning hawkers in the vicinity was proposed, and stalls were rent-free till the end of 1930 for existing stallholders. [8] [9] [10] On 5 January 1931, the rent-free scheme was further extended till the end of March 1931. [11]

In December 1946, Maxwell Market was the first location chosen by the Singapore Social Welfare Department to house a restaurant aimed at providing cheaper food to families. Named as the Family Restaurant, it prepared 2,000 meals daily at a cost of 8 cents, and the meals consisted carbohydrates such as rice and potatoes, as well as salmon. [12] [13]

In January 1949, the municipality passed a rule for municipal markets to only sell perishable goods, and as such, money changers, provision and bread sellers had to relocate their business elsewhere. [14]

Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell in 2024 Maxwell Food Centre.jpg
Maxwell in 2024

On 16 March 1987, after a five month renovation, Maxwell Market reopened as Maxwell Road Food Centre. With construction costing about S$ 74,000, the hawker centre housed 70 hawkers from their former site at China Square. [15] However, individual stalls did not have access to running water, and hawkers had to share a common washing area originally meant for washing raw market produce. [16] As such, dirty dishes and cooking ingredients were put together as these washing points, causing the concrete floor to be always wet and littered with trash and food waste. [17]

On 16 October 1991, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced that the hawker centre will be demolished to make way for its S$ 240 million new headquarters. [18] [19] Two days later, the hawkers were informed that they must move out by 30 November 1992, and most of them feared being split up and relocated across the island. The affected hawkers were given the option of either accepting an ex gratia cash payment of up to S$ 15,000, or moving to another vacant stall in existing hawker centres. [20] However, on 8 July 1993, URA shelved its plans, and the hawker centre remained at its current location. [21] As such, the Ministry of Environment announced plans to renovate the hawker centre, and it was closed on 1 September 2000. [22] [23] [24]

After a S$ 3.2 million renovation, Maxwell Road Food Centre reopened as Maxwell Food Centre on 15 May 2001, housing 103 hawkers. [2] [25]

Present day

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in 2008 Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore.JPG
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in 2008

Maxwell is one of the most popular hawker centres, and the most featured hawker centre on Instagram, with more than 13,200 posts. [26] In 2016, Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, a Hainanese chicken rice stall ran by husband and wife Mr and Mrs Loy Chee San, was the first stall in the hawker centre to be awarded a Bib Gourmand. [17] [27] [28]

Celebrities, like singer Dua Lipa and actress Drew Barrymore, and foreign dignitaries, such as Vietnam Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, have also dined at the hawker centre. [29] [30] [31] [32]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Municipality of Singapore (1928). Administration Report of the Singapore Municipality for the Year 1928. Singapore: C. A. Ribeiro and Company Limited. pp. 69D, 109D –110D, 10G. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 Tee, Hun Ching; Lee, Steven (20 May 2001). "GENERATION MAX". The Straits Times . p. 12. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Maxwell Food Centre". Chinatown Singapore. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Thirty-Four Years in Malaya". The Straits Times . 19 February 1931. p. 7. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Municipality of Singapore (1927). Administration Report of the Singapore Municipality for the Year 1927. Singapore: C. A. Ribeiro and Company Limited. pp. 16I –17I. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Marsh, W. (14 July 1928). "MUNICIPALITY OF SINGAPORE". Malaya Tribune . p. 14. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  7. ↑ National Environment Agency (2019). "Hawker Centres". data.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Banishing Hawkers from A Large Area". The Straits Times . 27 April 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "A CHINESE PROBLEM: Food Hawkers and Police Objections". The Straits Times . 6 June 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "MUNICIPAL ACTION". Singapore Free Press . 14 June 1930. p. 12. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Municipal Committee No. 2". Malaya Tribune . 12 January 1931. p. 4. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "EIGHT-CENT FAMILY MEALS FOR S'PORE: New Social Welfare Scheme Announced". The Straits Times . 14 December 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "8-CENT MEALS". Singapore Free Press . 14 December 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "MARKETS TO BE CLEARED OF HAWKERS". Singapore Free Press . 19 January 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  15. ↑ Tan, Danny (18 March 1987). "Maxwell hawker centre a hit after facelift". The Straits Times . p. 26. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "Treasure trove of old favourites". The Straits Times . 19 April 1987. p. 4. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  17. 1 2 Tan, Monica (5 September 1999). "Fried snack tor 10 cents". The Straits Times . p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  18. ↑ Toh, Eddie (16 October 1991). "URA to build new $240m headquarters at site of Maxwell Rd Hawker Centre". The Straits Times . p. 40. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  19. ↑ Urban Redevelopment Authority (13 April 1992), PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO APPROVED ADDITIONS/ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING URA BUILDING
  20. ↑ "Maxwell hawkers fear relocation will split them up". The Straits Times . 23 October 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  21. ↑ Toh, Eddie (8 July 1993). "URA puts on hold its plans to build new Hq". The Straits Times . p. 36. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  22. ↑ Goh, Debbie (19 August 2000). "Makeover for old Maxwell Rd market". The Straits Times . p. 57. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  23. ↑ Chan, Kwee Sung (18 September 2000). "Ah, sweet scents of nostalgia for Maxwell Market". The Straits Times . p. 18. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  24. ↑ Sim, Chi Yin (3 September 2000). "Bye, Max, see you real soon". The Straits Times . p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  25. ↑ Urban Redevelopment Authority (12 April 2000), PROPOSED ADDITION & ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING MAXWELL FOOD CENTRE AND ADDITION OF BIN CENTRE
  26. ↑ Chow, Adira (4 December 2024). "This hawker centre is the most Instagrammed in Singapore, according to a recent survey". Time Out (magazine) . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  27. ↑ Tan, Hsueh Yun (15 July 2016). "Hawkers galore on Michelin's Bib list". The Straits Times . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  28. ↑ "Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". Michelin Guide . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  29. ↑ Lim, Ruey Yan (7 November 2024). "Singer Dua Lipa ups her culinary game at Maxwell Food Centre". The Straits Times . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  30. ↑ Daley, Farah (2 October 2024). "Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore makes unexpected visit to Maxwell Food Centre for popiah". The Straits Times . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  31. ↑ Tam, Nhu (19 July 2023). "Vietnam foreign minister gets street food treat in Singapore". VnExpress . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  32. ↑ Chakraborty, Drima (16 April 2024). "Breakfast like a local: Influencer Aiken Chia brings New Zealand PM Luxon to Maxwell Food Centre". AsiaOne . Retrieved 15 December 2024.
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