#721 ft. Kf Seetoh - Millionaire Hawkers & the Best Way to Save Hawker Culture

Sep 29, 2025

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Kf Seetoh, founder of Makansutra and Singapore’s most outspoken hawker culture advocate, joins us to talk about the past, present and future of hawker food. From his beginnings as a photojournalist to working with Anthony Bourdain, he shares how Singapore’s hawker culture rose to global recognition - and why the Social Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) model risks killing it.

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𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 – "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁”
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(00:00) Words of Wisdom
(00:50) Intro
(03:13) Kf Seetoh's Journey Into Food Culture
(07:22) Makansutra and Food Culture Storytelling
(17:24) UNESCO and Hawker Culture
(25:14) Challenges in Hawker Centre Management
(29:20) Entrepreneurship in the Hawker Sector
(30:47) Operator Role and Challenges
(33:43) NEA Management Concerns
(36:03) Discussion on SEHC
(38:00) Hawker Business Models
(52:33) Hawker Culture and Technology
(01:00:53) Government's Role and Expectations
(01:01:14) Cultural and Social Value of Hawkers
(01:03:34) Challenges and Sustainability
(01:14:11) Public Assets Debate
(01:17:47) Future of Hawker Culture
(01:27:48) One Shiok Thing

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