Celebrate Singapore’s No.1 heroes with DBS PayLah! Hawker Awards

Hawkers aren’t just the people who serve us our favourite rojak and rendang. They’re our neighbours, our friends, and our number one supporters. They don’t just fill our faces with great food, they also light up our days and warm our hearts.

Last year, the DBS PayLah! Hawker Awards highlighted hawker gems in different neighbourhoods. This year, we have 8 new categories, going behind the food to celebrate not just the diversity of our cuisine but also the personalities that make every meal memorable.

Celebrate our hawkers with 8 award categories

 

Best Chinese
Food Hawker

Best Malay
Food Hawker

 

Best Indian
Food Hawker

Best Western
Food Hawker

Best
Drinks Stall

The Gula Melaka Award for sweetest personality

Celebrating the hawkers who always remember your orders and gives you the biggest smile and sweetest compliments.

The Chili Padi Award for the best under-30s Hawker

Celebrating the younger hawkers who help preserve our hawker culture and continue the legacy of hawker food.

The Spicy Ginger Award for the best over-50s Hawker

Celebrating the senior hawkers that have years of experience, endurance and grit.

Look out for the winners of Hawker Awards 2023 – coming soon!

Thank you, fellow hawker foodies, for voting for your favourite shortlisted hawkers.

Voting is now closed! We are verifying all votes and will be announcing our final winners here on 9 October, so stay tuned.

Winning hawkers will enjoy a S$3,000 cash prize, sponsored marketing by DBS and featured on our platforms.

Golden Mile Porridge and Seafood Soup: Growing up at the hawker centre was how Ms Chew found her passion in cooking for others. For the past 32 years, she’s been serving up her signature sliced fish and yam rice all while helping the less privileged.

Hoe Hokkien Mee: Mr Ong started out in the old-school banquet catering business but nowadays, he has just one item: his signature hokkien mee. He does all the cooking while his wife handles the customers and the logistics!

Xiao Di Roasted Charcoal Delights: Jun’s stall is only 2 months old, but he’s actually been roasting meat for a decade. He started with his mom’s roast duck stall, before doing six years at Tian Cheng!

Annie’s Halal Cuisine: Muliami Bte Abdullah, 58, started cooking in 2019 after a career switch. Her motivation is to feed not just her family, but to belanja more food for the less privileged in her community.

Sajian Mak Dara: Noi inherited this stall from his mother almost 15 years ago. Even though inflation has been tough, he tries to keep his prices as low as possible for his many elderly patrons in the neighborhood.

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak: Even though the work of being a hawker is extremely tiring, working together as a family makes it easier and fulfilling.

Heavens: You probably know Heavens for its Princess Appam. What you don’t know is how Ms Daniel wakes up at 3AM to make everything fresh! It might be tiring sometimes, but nothing makes her happier than a happy customer.

Saamsudeen: Saamsudeen has been a hawker since the 1990s, when he took over from his parents' stall. His dream is to open up a family-style restaurant where he has the room to cook up healthier Indian vegetarian dishes.

Sabeen Sara Prata and Briyani Stall: Every day starts at 5AM for Sara and Abdul, who work together to prepare 4 types of curry. Their Mutton Biryani is the most popular. One customer even brought it all the way back to London!

Holy Grill: Johnny and Grace started out running a school canteen in Tanjong Katong Girl’s School. After they moved, loyal TKGS alumnae continued to visit their stall at Old Airport Road.

Wow Wow West Genuine: Before becoming a hawker in 2001, Eric was already in the food business at Raffles Instituiton’s canteen. When he’s not serving up sizzling chicken chops with fries, Eric works as a community counsellor and a volunteer with the Singapore Prison Service.

Coffee Break at Amoy Street: This 3rd gen kopi stall serves up treats both new and traditional. Probably the only place in Singapore where you can have a Sea salt caramel latte with your kaya toast.

Mad Roaster: Mad roaster is run by Madeline, a litigation lawyer who wanted to make a bigger difference in the world. The stickers on her coffee cup are made by refugees in Thailand and they help provide a stable income for the community.

QQ Fruit Juice Ice Blend: QQ Fruit juice was started by Amos’s parents. Her mother was a nurse who started serving up juices after seeing how celery juices helped her patients with high blood pressure.

Guan Seng Carrot Cake: Mr Guan goes above and beyond to serve his customers the best carrot cake ever. His secret ingredient? His wife’s homemade, 4-hour, craveworthy chilli sauce.

Tian Kee Carrot Cake / Hokkien Mee: Tian Kee is run by a husband-and-wife team who traded banking for carrot cake and an army career for delicious hokkien mee!

The Headless Baker: After years of boredom, Amber quit her corporate life for a career in croissants and coffee. Nothing makes her day like seeing a customer munching down happily on a cardamom roll.

No.25 Minced Meat Noodle: “It’s the best feeling in the world when you see a customer pick up the bowl and polish off our noodle sauce and broth. Nothing beats it.”

Nyonya Pok Pok Kay: Since young, Sarah always wanted to be an entrepreneur. At 26, she took the leap and started serving up Peranakan delights inspired by her family’s heritage.

Shen Li Restaurant: Although he has a degree in Business Management, Daniel’s true inspiration is his grandmother, who taught his entire family to cook. He continues her legacy with a delectable range of Tze Char specials. (Try the prawn paste pork belly!)

Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice: If you live in Tiong Bahru, this institution needs no introduction. Loo’s has been serving up the richest and most comforting curry rice since 1979. (1946 if we count from his dad)

Punggol Noodles: Mr Yee inherited the business from his father-in-law in the 1990s. For thirty years, he has been waking up at 3AM to make fish-balls by hand. Apprentices welcome!

153 Traditional Cuisine: Mr Ong used to work in an MNC. In 2019, he traded his corporate life for a stall that serves up Yam cakes, Bee Hoon and Chee Cheong Fun.

5 Million reasons to show your love

The DBS PayLah! Hawker Awards is just one of the many ways we give our support. Our 5 Million Hawker Meals Initiative gives up to S$3 worth of subsidies every Friday for your hawker meals. Go visit your favourite stalls and don’t forget to nominate! Learn more

Not on PayLah! yet? Download The Ultimate Everyday App today. Get S$5 when you download and register with promo ‘FIVELAH’ from now till 31 December 2023. For full terms and conditions, click here. Download now Find out more about DBS PayLah! here. Monies in DBS PayLah! are a deposit. SGD deposits are insured up to S$75k by SDIC.

Terms & Conditions: DBS PayLah! Hidden Gem Hawker Awards.

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