WILL THE "REAL" TEOCHEW RESTAURANT PLEASE STAND UP?: TEOCHEW RESTAURANTS AND THE SEARCH FOR AUTHENTICITY, 1980s – 1990s

Abstract

In 2019, Singapore nominated its hawker culture for a listing on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A key focal point of this nomination was the hawker centre as a reflection of Singapore’s multiculturalism. Ironically, little has been said of the heterogeneity that persists within ethnic cuisines as much of Singapore’s foodscape continues to exist within the state’s racial categories. This thesis thus contributes to Singapore’s food history by exploring how authenticity was defined among two categories of Teochew restaurants throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. The Hongkong Teochew restaurants of the early 1980s bring to the fore the contention for legitimacy between Hongkong and Singapore, as producers of Teochew culinary knowledge. On the other hand, the redevelopment of Wayang street market and Ellenborough market introduced place-history and personal memories as characteristics for constructing the authenticity of family-run Teochew restaurants. From the 1980s to the 1990s, a dominant criterion for authenticity among Teochew restaurants was faithfulness to Teochew culinary tradition. This thesis, however, highlights the other criterion for evaluating authenticity (such as dining experiences and restaurant histories) introduced by restauranteurs and food critics during this period.