These are uncertain times for Singapore’s F&B industry, with Covid-19 severely disrupting the local dining scene. And starting from today, eateries will have to comply with the new “circuit breaker” measures, which include stopping dine-in services and offering only takeaway. Due to the urgent implementation of the measures, the eateries only have a short notice of a few days to prepare their shops for the circuit-breaking period, which will run from April 7 to May 4.

Hawkers are especially affected by the measures, as they usually operate solo or with a very lean team. 8days.sg speaks to some popular hawkers to find out how they are coping with the measures. “I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out,” says Cai Jiaming, 30, who runs the Ming’s Prawn Noodle stall at Alexandra Centre Food Village. Walter Tay, 32, who operates carrot cake stall Father & Son in Bukit Panjang with his father, and Xavier Neo, 44, owner of Toa Payoh Hokkien mee stall Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee, echo the same sentiment. “We have to observe [from April 7]. That’s when the real thing starts, says Xavier when we contacted him last Friday (April 3).

To protect their customers and themselves, the hawkers have been donning face masks. Xavier, who works at the stall with his wife Alice, says: “We started wearing masks ’cos we’re too close to the customers. Everything must be constantly sanitised now. We even announced on our Facebook page that we’re going cashless for payment — the virus can [reside] on cash too, so we placed the money we received earlier in a Ziploc bag and brought it home to sanitise properly. And every time we handle cash, we wash our hands.” While these safety precautions are time-consuming, Xavier reckons, “No choice lah. We have to think of our customers, and for ourselves. We are scared of getting the virus too. If we kena, we can’t open the stall.”

On top of the circuit breaker measures, prawn mee hawker Jiaming is still grappling with the ramifications of Malaysia’s movement control order. “There’s also a problem with the supply side,” he says. “The supplies at the fishery port dropped. Even my own suppliers called me and said there might not be any prawns for the next few weeks [during Malaysia’s ongoing MCO]. They told me there isn’t as much [produce] coming in from Malaysia anymore.”

Jiaming is also unable to stock up on extra prawns due to logistical constraints. He explains, “My storage space in the stall is limited. I don’t have a walk-in freezer, so I can only keep stock for at most an extra day. Crustaceans are perishable, so you can’t store them for too long. Later my customers will complain [about the quality of the food].”

To overcome the prawn supply issue, he has started buying IQF prawns “from a few contacts” in addition to his usual fresh live prawns for his noodles. IQF, which stands for Individually Quick Frozen, is a process where fresh produce (like prawns) are frozen separately to preserve their freshness. “I tried cooking them at home and the taste is similar [to live prawns], but it’s not as good,” admits Jiaming. “But that’s the only alternative I have now, so I have to explain to my customers [if I have to substitute an ingredient].”

Carrot cake seller Walter Tay has already anticipated the demand for takeaway food and pre-ordered more tapow containers from his suppliers. “We faced a shortage of chye poh (preserved radish bits) during China’s lockdown [for Covid-19]. We learnt from that experience. It’s our responsibility to be well-prepared with our required ingredients and items,” he shares.

To avoid crowding at his stall, Walter also acknowledges that hawkers could use some help from delivery aggregators (like GrabFood, Deliveroo or Foodpanda), which typically charge a commission fee that may be too pricey for some stalls with lean profit margins. He says, “I hope the delivery aggregators can help us by dropping their commission.”

Both Walter and Jiaming of Ming’s Prawn Noodle are using food delivery service WhyQ, which specialises in delivering hawker food to households. But Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee’s Xavier Neo is not on any delivery platform. “We don’t have enough in-house supply for both takeaway and delivery, ’cos we sell out by 2pm,” he says.

Since he started his stall last August, he has introduced a pre-ordering system instead. Customers can call up his stall, place their orders and stipulate a specific date and time for collection. Xavier will have their freshly-cooked mee packed and ready to go when they arrive at his kopitiam stall. This reduces the crowd queuing and waiting for his very popular Hokkien mee. He adds, “Most people don’t like to wait anyway. We had some office people who ordered 10 to 20 packets at one shot. But they take and go, fast game.”

Nevertheless, Walter is bracing himself for a “decrease in sales” as “the economy is definitely going to be affected during these tough times”. But he’s optimistic that local hawkers will weather the storm. He avers, “Our resolve to preserve hawker culture is sincere and solid. We won’t be giving up without a fight.”

Father & Son, #01-23 Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre & Market, 2 Bukit Panjang Ring Rd, S679947. Tel: 9125-0435. Open daily except Thur, 4.30am-4pm. www.facebook.com/fatherson888.

Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee, #01-264, 19 Brewcoffee Coffeeshop, Blk 19 Toa Payoh Lor 7, Kim Keat Palm, S310019. Tel: 8798-1525. Open daily except Wed, 10am-2.30pm or while stocks last. www.facebook.com/pg/Singaporehokkienman.

Ming's Prawn Noodle, #01-01 Alexandra Village Food Centre, 120 Bukit Merah Ln 1, S150120. Tel: 9616-0495. Open daily except Wed, 7am-3pm. www.facebook.com/pg/mingsprawnnoodle.