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When the F&B business gets tough, we often see restaurant owners reducing operating hours or cutting down on manpower. Not Jacky Tan, though, the owner of Cheeky Don at Millenia Walk. He actually created a video game that celebrates Singapore’s rich hawker culture — Hawker Fantasy.
Hawker Fantasy is a free retro role-playing game (RPG) which showcases our beloved hawker culture and food through food-themed battles. You can also look forward to local references and iconic dishes being in the game. Hawker Fantasy is free to play and can be accessed through a phone browser without downloading an app. Which is great for people like me whose phone storage space is exploding. You can try it out here.
I tried the game out and here’s what you can expect. Players will take control of 3 heroes with familiar and hilarious names: Ah Beng, Ah Huat and Ah Lian. What’s scarier than bland, tasteless food? That’s why you’ll follow them as they travel across Singapore to stop the evil Bland Emperor from turning all our beloved local food tasteless.
Along the way, I encountered bosses inspired by familiar hawker fare, with every stage set at a real hawker centre or food street. The food-inspired villains include Rojak Bromance, a youtiao donning chic sunglasses accompanied by a pineapple wearing a cap. There is also the Sambal Stingray Baron from our famous Chomp Chomp Food Centre.
Once you defeat the bosses, you’ll unlock a “food gem“: the dish, its history, and what to order when you visit. Additionally, through the game’s Hawker Dex, you’ll discover the stories of 88 dishes along with the background of the communities who created them. Beyond in-game fun, Hawker Fantasy also encourages its players to visit real-life hawker centres.
With the game’s Makan Passport, players can visit hawker centres around Singapore and stamp down their own food photos. Sounds fun? That’s not even all — I won’t spoil all the fun for you, but trust me when I say there are so many more features to this game, even secret stages! Try it out for yourself, and you might find yourself addicted.
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