Fitness
Urban Hawker: A Taste of Singapore Is Coming to New York This Summer
When it opens later this summer, walking into Urban Hawker will likely be an overwhelming sensory experience. Steam rising from a pot of laksa as the lid is lifted. Vegetables sizzling as they skate across an oily frying pan. Brightly lit food stalls all around, and behind each one a cook preparing a dish perfected over the course of several generations.
Urban Hawker will bear all the hallmarks of one of Singapore’s famed hawker centers—the ubiquitous open-air food courts found throughout the city—apart from one crucial detail: It’s not in Singapore. Instead, Urban Hawker occupies the space inside 135 West 50th Street in Manhattan, just a few blocks from Times Square and over 9,500 miles from the Southeast Asian city-state.
Slated to open in mid-July, the food hall is the latest project from Singaporean entrepreneur, photojournalist, food guru, and past Anthony Bourdain collaborator KF Seetoh. Once the doors open and cooks start serving customers, it’ll be the closest you can get to a genuine hawker center without booking a trip to Singapore.
“Authentic is my only sales pitch,” Seetoh tells Men’s Journal.
Seetoh, who started the Singapore-based food company Makansutra, knows a lucrative business opportunity when he sees one. That’s partly why he’s collaborating with Urbanspace (a group that operates multiple food halls in New York) to launch his new venture in Manhattan—a place he calls “the capital of the world.” But his mission is bigger than just selling food to hungry New Yorkers.
“It’s about preservation,” he says.
Hawker centers can be found all over Singapore. They’re the country’s most iconic culinary tradition, and they date back to the earliest chapters of its history, when the population expanded with an influx of migrants from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, and farther afield. To make ends meet, many of these newcomers began cooking and selling the cuisines of their home countries.
“The mall food court that the West is familiar with is just about bringing fast food joints into a little counter,” Seetoh explained. “Hawker centers sell heritage street food—very different from the stuff people burn in barbecues or deep fry on the streets.”
The Singaporean tradition of hawker centers is so important that it was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Unfortunately, like so many great cultural traditions around the world, it is in jeopardy. The first problem, according to Seetoh, is the cost of doing business in Singapore, from “ridiculous” rent rates to expensive supplies.
“Folks expect hawker food to be cheap,” he explains. “But [hawkers] pay the same for a fresh chicken in a chicken rice stall as what Gordon Ramsey would pay for his chicken at the Marina Bay Sands. It’s a wonder that people can still survive.”
Pricey ingredients are one issue, but Seetoh claims “the ultimate cancer” for hawker centers is a shortage of labor.
“Singaporeans are naturally not big on service culture because of who we are, who we’re brought up to be,” he said. “It’s the richest city in the world. Many countries that have this level of success have that same problem, but other countries will allow [businesses] to hire workers from another country that want this job. But not Singapore. They frown on it.”
Seetoh believes the best way to save Singapore’s hawker culture is a transplant: moving a team of Singaporean hawkers around the world to set up shop in a new market where labor is plentiful and customers are willing to pay fair prices.
Stripping the suffering Singaporean hawker scene of some of its top talent may seem counterproductive to saving it, but Seetoh insists the hawkers moving to New York are “actually going on a Noah’s Ark.”
“We are not killing them. We are saving them,” he said. “If they stay in Singapore [their businesses] will die.”
Recruiting a team of hawkers to relocate to New York City has been a challenge for Seetoh and his team, but he has finally found “a good selection of young and slightly older” cooks—17 of them, to be exact—who are ready to fire up their stoves when Urban Hawker opens its doors.
“Most of them are young,” he said. “The older ones that are going are there to hand over their skills and share them with our American staff so they can take over the mantle.”
What to Eat at Urban Hawker
Satay skewers Makansutra/KF Seetoh
The hawkers will be cooking an array of “Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan, and even some western Hainanese” dishes, according to Seetoh. In other words, “a cross-section of the cultures in Singapore.”
Highlights include halal burgers, oyster omelets, a selection of soups and skewers, and Malay nasi lemak, a delicious dish made of rice cooked in coconut milk and served with toppings like a hard-boiled egg, crispy fried anchovies, and cucumbers. Customers will also be able to try chicken rice, an aptly-named Singaporean classic made with poached chicken and seasoned rice (it’s one of Seetoh’s favorites).
Chicken rice Makansutra/KF Seetoh
Seetoh believes the hawkers’ flavors will be a hit in Manhattan. Yet it’s also important to him that the story behind each dish gets shared.
“Singaporeans do not spin enough about our food culture,” he says. “It’s time to tell the world.”
It remains to be seen how Seetoh’s hawkers will take to New York City, or how New Yorkers will receive this new entry into the city’s crowded restaurant scene. But the Singaporean food guru is optimistic that the project will work out for one simple reason.
“People around the world love good food,” he said. “It’s not about Asian or Singaporean or European or South American. It’s just great food. You’re eating somebody else’s culture.”
Want to get a taste yourself? Follow Urban Hawker on Instagram for updates.
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The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top.
Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop
once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
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