Duck Tales – A Day in The Life of a Hawker!

“Jon ah, I’m going to send you to Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap (金记潮州卤鸭) to be a hawker for a day,” said Maureen. It really quacked me up at first because I thought she was joking.

I believe I was chiefly chosen because I was the most ‘kantang’ intern in the office. The term is used to describe Singaporeans who are deemed too Westernized, due to the fact that they can only speak in English, having never learnt to speak their mother tongues fluently. This is true as a part of me had completely forsaken Chinese (not to mention my dialect) after enrolling as an English Literature Undergraduate at NTU.

Armed with a GoPro, DSLR camera, and a retro good morning towel that screamed “I’m a hawker”, I was given no further instructions other than to report to Chinatown Food Complex at 730am. This was considered early because, on a normal day, I was only required to reach the office at 10am. It would take me about an hour and a half to reach Chinatown from where I lived, so I woke up at 515am to play it safe. I was keen on being a model employee on my first and only day at work. Who knows? What if the Duck King turned out to be a ruthless tyrant who would hook me up with his other ducks for being late? The sky was still dark and gloomy by the time I left the house — a heavy foreshadowing of the fatigue the day would bring.

I arrived at Chinatown Food Complex at 715am. 15 minutes early. I munched on a hotdog bun for breakfast while waiting for the Duck King to arrive. The Duck King shall henceforth be known as Melvin. So I waited anxiously, anticipating Melvin’s arrival… I waited for almost 45 minutes.

It was a Thursday morning. Melvin and his mother looked tired and worn out as they lugged bags of supplies and equipment for the day. After speaking to Melvin and finding out more about his morning ritual, I felt that the hardest part about being a hawker is the routine that you have to follow through every day. Being your own boss and running your own business sounds like a dream come true to many young entrepreneurs nowadays, yet, I believe that no matter what business you choose to venture into, there will always be mundane and obligatory tasks to complete in order to keep things running like clockwork.

Melvin, his mother, and his sister wake up in the wee hours of the morning to get ready before his older brother sends them to Chinatown Food Complex. Upon reaching the stall, Melvin and his mother follow a set of standard operating procedures to set up the stall. The preparation processes include washing all the ingredients thoroughly to remove impurities and any gamey taste or smell, preparing the braising liquid, and cooking the duck, steaming the rice etc.

Entrails such as the large and small pig intestines, pig stomach, and pork belly have to be soaked in vinegar and salt before being blanched in hot water. It is a tedious and tiresome process that takes about 2-3 hours and has to be done every morning. The process is essential because Melvin cares about the quality of his food.

Apart from laying out strips of tau pok above a steaming pot of soup, I was also tasked to stack and arrange tau kwas and braised eggs on the display tray in rows of four. That was pretty much everything Melvin entrusted me with in the morning. In my defence, the tau kwas had a very soft and fragile texture and so I had to handle them with extreme care and precision! I suppose he and his mother knew the entire routine by heart and didn’t want to bother me with all the menial tasks (who am I kidding, they probably just didn’t want me getting in the way).

By the way, there is a reason why hawkers always have a towel around their neck — it is A THOUSAND DEGREES inside the stall!!! Halfway through setting up the stall, I noticed that the back of Melvin’s t-shirt was already soaked (in spite of the towel over his neck), and it was only 9am. I guess that’s why his mother prepared 5 huge Tupperware bottles for the day! I only brought a tiny bottle, and so I received a lecture from her about the importance of staying hydrated.

When the lunch crowd hit around 12pm, Melvin, his mom, and his sister were taking orders and serving food non-stop for almost 2 hours! Melvin’s mom told me after that no matter how tired she got, she had to push through during lunch hour. Her strategy is to ensure that she gets enough rest (coming out of the stall to sit down) whenever she can. As I wasn’t certified to be working in the kitchen, I mainly helped with the delivery of food and collection of money. I was also in charge of placing tiny mixtures of sambal chilli, vinegar, and garlic into saucers for customers! If you ask me… I think I did a pretty good job?! Didn’t drop any trays at least.

Whilst Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap (金记潮州卤鸭) uses traditional ingredients and methods of cooking, they serve their duck rice in a Japanese bento-style to attract younger customers! The only difference is the replacement of a normal braised egg with an ajitsuke tamago, and instead of scooping his yam rice directly onto a plate, Melvin serves 3 yam rice balls. However, throughout my time there, I noticed that the majority of customers who patronized the stall still belonged to the older generation.

We could only settle down for lunch after the crowd had dispersed. By then, it was approximately 3pm. I was tired but mostly hungry and excited to try the food from the stall I had been working at! Melvin’s mother prepared rice and a little of everything for me — small and large pig intestine, pork belly, tofu, pigskin, duck meat and braised egg! The food tasted so delicious that I gobbled everything down in under 10 minutes.

Later in the afternoon, we began our preparations to cook a whole new batch of sambal chilli! Ingredients such as oil and chilli powder had to be added periodically while the contents in the wok was constantly stirred for more than an hour. If the temperature was too high or if the stirring wasn’t strong enough, sediments would get stuck to the bottom of the wok and get burnt, potentially ruining the entire batch of chilli.

Also, if stirred too vigorously, the oil from the mix may spill out of the wok and scald your forearm. Usually, Melvin and his mother would take turns, but today, they had an extra helping hand! The toughest part was when the chilli powder was added. Do you know that choking/ suffocating feeling you get when you inhale powder by accident? Yeah, this was chilli powder, in a large quantity, in an enclosed area. We had to cover our mouths and noses with our towels to continue stirring!

Both Melvin and his mother could stir the wok consistently without complaining but for me… In the 20 minutes that I was left with the wok, my arms started to ache after just a few rounds of stirring and I couldn’t stay still in one position for long. Watch the timelapse in the video and you will know…

As I sat in front of the stall after the day was over, I was exhausted, but I felt slightly accomplished. I noticed a look of nonchalance on the faces of Melvin and his mother. Then it hit me. I was only attached to the stall for a day. They have been doing this for as long as they can remember, and will continue doing this for the rest of their lives. Upon enquiry, I found out that while I would be resting at home the following day (National Day), they would be right here, going through the same routine, only this time with a more challenging and demanding crowd, as it was a public holiday. Being a hawker is about understanding and accepting the daily routine, and the long and tiring hours it entails. Being a hawker is more than a commitment, it is a way of life.