As part of its efforts leading up to the UNESCO decision, organisations such as the National Heritage Board have been reaching out to the public to gather support to back the bid. From colourful campaigns and “voting counters” that in iconic hawker centres like to meeting and hearing out what hawkers have to say on-the-ground, various government boards, bodies and agencies have gone all out to fulfil the public backing criteria for the bid.
On a global scales, hawker centres have also received more international recognition too, thanks to movies like Crazy Rich Asians – and its much debated Newton Food Centre montage – as well as shows like No Reservations and Parts Unknown by the late Anthony Bourdain. In an epsiode of Parts Unknown, the travel host described Singapore as "possibly the most food-centric place on Earth, with the most enthusiastic diners, the most varied and abundant, affordable dishes – available for cheap – on a per-square-mile basis". An advocate of hawker centres as the solution to saving street food around the world, Bourdain voiced how the Singapore method should be the ideal for keeping traditions alive and affordable for the next generation – so clearly we've been doing some things right.
