Urban Hawker — Restaurant in New York

If you are a tourist, and have never been to Singapore but like to check out why the Singaporeans rave about their cuisine, this is as close as you can get without visiting the island. Been over 45 countries and haven’t tasted anything this close in flavor and authenticity, in one setting.

If you are Singaporean living in the US, you’ll hope Seetoh open a Urban Hawker in your city, if you aren’t nearby. I’ll do a stopover here, make a quick hop from JFK/ LGA/ even Newark if I’m in transit, just to makan if time allows, if you miss home food.

Now for the food. Seafood beehoon from White Restaurant is legit. I’m guessing it’s the msg. From the looks, it doesn’t seems to differ much from a standard plate of rice vermicelli a Chinese take-out offers. But it tasted totally 💯 different and is definitely Singaporean; not Chinese, not Thai, not Korean, not American Chinese. The portion was generous- loaded with plentiful seafood pieces - scallops, shrimps, octopus, squid…. $20 + taxes + credit card charge =$22.48. If you are not a big eater, you can possibly get away with getting some snacks (curry puff, kueh kueh) and split this main course with another person.

The Nasi Lemak from Daisy’s Dream kitchen has aromatic coconut rice, crispy fried chicken, Ikan billis, hb egg, NL chili, and tasted like what you’ll get at a Kopitiam in Singapore. $15. It’s the least expensive dish we had tonight. With taxes and fees comes up to $16.85.

Oyster omelette is my all time fave Singapore dish. We paid $18. Plus taxes $20.29. This is the smallest portion of the 3 dishes and on a scale of 10, probably a 6-7. The oysters were generous and good size, but it’s greasy and very salty. We did pack everything to go, so perhaps the greasiness was worse because we did not eat it immediately. The flavor though, is authentic, unlike ‘oyster omelette’ US Asian restaurants had on their menu - those have always been very disappointing. Remember to ask for more chilly sauce, just like what you’ll need to in Singapore.

For a meal, these prices are average to high, even considering they are in Manhatten. It’s in a food court setting but with more like a prices of a diner, with no service, and extra charges like 3.5% credit card fee. Everything is $17-$25, NOT including a beverage. For a family of 4, you can expect to easily spend over a hundred dollars with drinks/ desert in. Also, no parking (typical NYC) - so we double parked to run in and run out for to-go.

But the concept of Singapore food is still nouveau to the masses. And, this is the only place you can sample various authentic Singapore cuisine. It’s not easy to find good singaporean food, unless you have a friend who cooks very well and invites you for dinner. The reason being classic Singapore food is not easy to replicate - the cooking, spices and ingredients aren’t a always available. In this case, the business owner actually imported all the chefs from Singapore to help set up. This is largely why this joint, unlike anything elsewhere, could recreate the authenticity of singaporean food. So, until supply demand, this is the price.

** note not everything offers at UH is...

Singapore’s hawker collectives are often likened to the mall food courts that were a defining feature of American youth culture in the 1980s and 1990s. However, this comparison overlooks the subtly integral role that hawker stalls have played in the development of Singaporean identity and economic stability. Hawker courts were where Singaporeans of all ethnic backgrounds could come to enjoy the food they’d grown up with and discover the culinary traditions of their neighbors at prices that were within the reach of all. That final clause is key. In an otherwise exorbitantly expensive city, hawker fare is, by design, accessible to all who inhabit the island.

This, sadly, is where Urban Hawker falls short. The prices that one can expect to pay at this venue in most cases exceed what you would pay for a comparable dish in other areas of Manhattan. This hawker court is less for the people as a whole and more for a few very specific demographics of persons who frequent the area: bankers in need of sustenance before beginning the graveyard shift, well-moneyed tourists and experience-craving millennials curious about all the online buzz surrounding the opening of NYC’s first Singaporean-inspired hawker venue.

Of course, hawker stalls in Singapore are subsidized by the government in a way that privately-run restaurants in NYC are not, so one would expect Urban Hawker’s vendors to charge prices allowing them to stay afloat in one of Manhattan’s most expensive zip codes. And yet, as a former resident of Singapore, I can’t help but experience a certain dissonance when I reminisce on the eminently affordable and decadently spiced meals that sustained me on the Little Red Dot and compare my memories of said meals to the rather small-portioned and costly dishes offered at Urban Hawker. There are also certain items ubiquitous to the Singaporean hawker experience that are conspicuously absent from the menus at Urban Hawker: bandung, ice kacang, char kway teow, vadai, etc. The Tamil contribution to Singaporean cuisine is nearly completely unrepresented within this venue.

As for the taste, I can only recommend the kuih at Lady Wong (truly the gem of the entire establishment), the Nyonya Laksa at Daisy’s Dream and the Singapore Sling at the Sling Bar. Everything else that I sampled was rather underwhelming.

Urban Hawker may not have provided the experience that I was anticipating, but it is still an experience, in most cases, worth having for those seeking a window – however foggy – onto the food culture that built a...

Ok, here we go… this is gonna be a long review, so bear with me. Or don’t, just go and eat some chicken rice. I also have to caveat my review that I went for an opening event where free samplers were provided, so my photos here are not representative of the actual portions you’ll be receiving! These are SAMPLE portions and much smaller than what customers will receive. The TL;DR is that its pricey compared to the real thing, but of course it is, because its in the middle of times square. But it’s absolutely worth it.

Urban Hawker is something that I’ve wished for, for a very long time. Basically since moving to New York, I’ve always missed the comfort food of home, Singapore. There is nothing quite like fresh crackling roti prata to start your day, a steaming bowl of prawn mee on a rainy afternoon, or a great plate of chicken rice pretty much any time ever. When I first heard rumours of this place, when Anthony Bourdain was attached to the project, that wish grew into hope. When Bourdain unceremoniously ended his life, that hope was snuffed out.

Enter KF Seetoh, his army of hawkers, and the Urban Space team. Credit to them for making Tony Bourdain’s dream a reality. The chicken rice is sublime, if a little pricey at $19 (at least it comes with soup), the hokkien mee had decent wok hei (char flavor from the wok), and the white bee hoon actually worked pretty well. Satay was also very good. Not everything was incredible, but again it was a sampler event and the opening so maybe each stall are still working out their kinks.

It’s also particularly striking to realize how underrepresented Malay food is in this city, let alone this country. There is a Malay food stall that serves everything from mee rebus to chicken satay and that fills me with joy.

In any case, i hope you take the time to check this place out. I wish the prices were slightly lower ($19 for chicken rice is borderline absurd) but they deliver on quality, authenticity and diversity, which is a major win in my opinion on all fronts. Cant wait to come back lots. I guess i have a reason to go to times...