S’porean Prawn Mee Hawker Pays Stall Assistants S$7,200 A Month At NYC Outlet

The price inflation of hawker food has been the talk of the town recently, with some hawkers forced to increase their prices due to rising costs. While one can find a basic bowl of, say, prawn noodles at a very reasonable average price of $6 in Singapore, you will have to shell out $26 for a similar dish in New York.

Photo: Instagram/ @urbanhawker

Pasir Ris hawker stall Prawnaholic recently made headlines for charging US$18 ($26) for prawn noodles at its Manhattan outlet called Prawnaholic Collections. The New York stall is part of Urban Hawker, an ambitious food enclave that soft-opened on Sept 21 near Times Square.

Conceptualised by Makansutra founder KF Seetoh, Urban Hawker is modelled after Singapore’s well-loved hawker centre and has 11 Singaporean hawker brands setting up shop there.

Photo: Instagram/ @prawnaholic

Prawn mee is $26 when the stall assistant’s monthly salary is $7,200

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Prawnaholic’s young hawker-owner Alan Choong reveals that he pays his three stall assistants in New York a monthly salary of up to US$5,000 ($7,200).

“Hawkers have long working hours, and the local laws limit each employee’s working hours so I have two teams working shifts at my stall,” explains the 26-year-old. According to New York’s Department of Labor, the minimum wage in the state is US$15 ($22) per hour.

Photo: Instagram/ @prawnaholicnyc

According to Alan, he also had to charge S$26 for a plate of prawn mee to make up for his high operational costs, which include ingredients and prime area rental. “Food prices here are around this standard,” he says.

Photo: Instagram/ @prawnaholic

In comparison, his prawn noodles at Pasir Ris Hawker Centre start from $7 for the most basic bowl, which comes with noodles, torched Kurobuta pork belly, prawn ball and a prawn. We should all feel so lucky for being able to enjoy wallet-friendly hawker food in Singapore.