Dishes like nasi lemak and bee hoon sold there are just as savoury as in Singapore. Their prices are a clincher. A typical plate of chicken rice is priced at US$6 (around $8), which is great value in a city where a comparable meal is US$9.
Many Singaporeans may have missed the news. New York’s first hawker centre opened last year. Urban Hawker, as it is called, is located a few blocks away from Times Square. It feels like the Maxwell Road Hawker centre, except for the humidity.
Urban Hawker has done well. Its lunch queues are longer than those at Lau Pa Sat. Its patrons are not just the homesick Singaporeans in New York. The diners are so diverse that they resemble the United Nations.
