[cheekopekman]

A hawker is a person who travels about selling food, typically advertising them by shouting or ringing bells or knocking two pieces bamboos or wood. 
Nowadays those selling food all got permanent stalls and no more shouting or banging gongs. So they become food seller and thus the place they gathered and sell food is changed to food court or food center lah.   

Long ago they used to push their carts selling mee siam and laksa along the streets lah!  Then they had to run whenever got TehGu lah!