Hawker centres, the outdoor food courts where locals gather for cheap evening meals, are the heart of most Singapore neighbourhoods. There is one close to my house, where families sit chatting on brightly coloured benches as dusk falls, ordering from dozens of stalls serving fresh local favourites, from chicken rice to Hokkien prawn noodles. The nightly scene provides a pleasing community vision in all respects bar one — the centre is ringed with ominous-looking concrete residential tower blocks.
夜市是新加坡大多數社區的靈魂所在,一到晚上,當地人就聚集在這些室外流動攤檔旁,享用物美價廉的晚餐。離我家不遠就有一個,黃昏降臨時,食客一家家坐在色彩明亮的長椅上聊天,享用數十個攤位供應的新鮮本地美食——從雞飯到福建蝦面。這幅夜景展現了新加坡的社區景象,它在各方面都是令人愉悅的,除了一點——夜市被陰森森的高層混凝土住宅樓包圍著。