Foreign-born hawkers bring flavours of home to Singapore’s hawker scene

An Alegrian and an Iraqi share how they built stalls in Singapore, serving dishes from their home countries adapted for local diners. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SINGAPORE – Foreign-born operators are making inroads into Singapore’s hawker scene, bringing flavours from their home towns.

At Golden Mile Food Centre, Algerian hawker Yahiaoui El-Hani, 33, opened MareMyst in December 2025, serving North African dishes such as chermoula-spiced chicken and mutton stew rice.

In Joo Chiat, Iraq-born Omar Alnaimi, 55, also known as Peter Omar, runs Pete’s Mediterranean Grill at AlibabaR The Hawker Bar, a hawker-style concept that marks its 10th anniversary in November.

Here are their stories of how they are winning over local diners with the food of their home countries.

When Algerian chef Yahiaoui El-Hani moved to Singapore in October 2021 to marry his Singaporean wife, his professional culinary experience helped him secure stable jobs. He first worked as a senior chef de partie at Spize restaurant and, later, as chef-in-charge at bakery-cafe chain Cedele.

He left Cedele in mid-2023 for better work-life balance and worked as a manager at a wellness centre for over a year. Then, he and his wife, Ms Nurulhuda Hamid, 34, decided to run a food business and operated a school canteen stall for most of 2025, while caring for their son, now three. The couple also have a two-year-old daughter.