Singapore’s ‘ice cream uncles’ are melting away thanks to old age and red tape: ‘it’s just the way it is’

It’s a windy, overcast Friday morning and Liang, who is in his 70s, is getting ready for work.

Soon, he’ll load his cooler with ice cream from the wholesale distributor next door before selling the treat to passers-by in the sweltering equator heat for about S$1.50 (US$1.10), with only the shade of his bike’s umbrella to keep him cool.

Liang is one of Singapore’s remaining traditional ice cream sellers and part of a bygone era.

Up until the 1960s, Singapore was teeming with street hawkers, selling everything from shaved ice desserts to pork rib soup.

Now, only about 150 of them are working on the streets today, largely due to strict regulations in the city state.

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Unlike America’s ice cream trucks, these hawkers in Singapore run their business on bikes – some of which aren’t even motorised.

The vehicles come attached with a cooler to store blocks of ice cream in an abundance of flavours, from the traditional (chocolate, vanilla) to the less common (corn or even the polarising fruit, durian).

Orders can be served in a cup, between two thin wafer biscuits, or, perhaps most recognisably, wrapped in a slice of rainbow-coloured bread.

For many Singaporeans, these traditional ice creams are an affordable, nostalgic treat. Buying one from one of Singapore’s “ice cream uncles” is almost a right of passage.

But it’s not easy being a traditional ice cream seller in Singapore, where street hawking is strictly regulated by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

“In 1994, street hawkers were licensed in a one-time exercise to control their numbers and no more licences were issued after that,” the SFA said in a statement. “However, in the early 2000s, the Street Hawking Scheme was reopened as a means to temporarily help those who are needy tide over their financial difficulties.”

These licences are valid for one year but are non-transferable, the SFA added.

“The older generation hawkers were previously issued with island-wide licences, which enabled them to ply their trade anywhere in Singapore, such as in tourist belts like Orchard Road,” Kenneth Goh, the third-generation owner of Chip Guan Heng, an ice cream distributor, said over email.

However, the newer hawkers tend to be issued with localised licences specific to the region where they live, Goh added.

In 2019, Channel News Asia reported that there were only 13 street hawkers left who were permitted to sell ice cream on any “public land,” per the SFA. This includes about seven sellers on Orchard Road.

“The Street Hawking Scheme is intended to provide temporary assistance for the unemployed and is not a permanent solution for anyone trying to make a living,” the SFA said.

Today, if anyone approaches the SFA for a street hawking licence, the SFA would connect them to the Social Service Office to see if they require financial or employment assistance.

The SFA did not respond to additional queries about the difference in licence types, if new licences are still being issued today, and whether it has plans to ensure the continuity of Singapore’s ice cream hawking scene.

The SFA also did not share the cost of these licences, although an old article published by local paper Today in 2014 reported that the licences under the renewed Street Hawking Scheme cost S$120 a year.

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One 80-year-old seller named Tan Ah Hock said he has been selling ice cream since 1967. He is set up on the city’s popular shopping street Orchard Road most days of the week from 11am to 10pm.

“If I can finish selling early, I’ll leave early,” Tan said. Last week, a person saw him still set up and selling to a line of customers past 10:30pm.

The minimum retirement age in Singapore is 63 years old. But Liang, Tan, and many other traditional ice cream sellers in the country find themselves working well into their golden years.

The job is physically demanding: The old ice cream sellers carry heavy boxes and spend most of their 10-hour shifts on their feet.

There’s also barely any time for a break, especially for those on Orchard Road.

Such was the case for an 82-year-old seller, who prefers to be known by his last name Wang. His cart is located in front of Wisma Atria, a long-standing mall on the street.

Barely 10 minutes after his giant red umbrella came on – a signal that he is open for business – a line formed in front of his cart, as he sliced through a giant block of chocolate chip ice cream.

“It’s getting harder to cut these frozen ice cream blocks. My wife is coming to help me later, she’s got more strength,” Wang said. “I’m already old.”

Chan Yong Leng, another Orchard Road ice cream seller who has been in the business since the 1960s, thinks the industry will die out in a few years.

“It’s tough doing this business,” Chan, 78, said. “Business is better if there are tourists.”

Indeed, most people who bought traditional ice creams on Orchard Road were tourists.

Social media appears to be a major driver in the industry. A Filipino couple on their first visit to Singapore said they learned about the ice cream uncles through TikTok and wanted to try it out for themselves.

And for many Singaporeans, these traditional ice cream sellers are an important part of the local heritage.

“I’ll try to buy ice cream and support them when I can,” Darren Tan, a 26-year-old local, said. “It’ll be sad if there are no more ice cream seller uncles in the future. There are not many places in Singapore where you can find such affordable and nostalgic ice cream.”

Over the past decade, Goh has also witnessed a steady decline in the number of ice cream hawkers in the country.

“It would be very sad if we are no longer able to hear the familiar sound of the ice cream bells ringing in our estate in the near future,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chan, who is nearing 80, said he plans to continue selling ice cream for a few more years.

“Things may be different now, but in the past, people would look down on you if you told them you sold ice cream,” Chan said. “I don’t feel any particular way about the industry dying out, it’s just the way it is.”