Teenagers are complex creatures. Parents spend years trying to understand them and most never do. When it comes to their dining habits, they can show up in droves at one café in January only to abandon the same café in June – as the place has lost its “cool” factor. Meals on Mondays to Fridays are spent frequenting school canteens, fast food joints and food courts while dining out on weekend is where the bulk of the pocket money goes to. Teens like to be in an eatery where other people their age “hang out”, because it stamps their own hip identity.
When I asked Yanger Tan, an 18-year-old female friend on the factors that she and her peers consider when choosing an eatery, for let’s say, a birthday celebration, she answered: “It must have a nice ambience, because we will be taking a lot of photos. I don’t mind spending about $25 to $30 for the meal.”
What about food? She replied, “Food doesn’t have to be fantastic, but it shouldn’t be bad.”
17-year-old Nicole Lim commented: “Korean BBQ and sushi buffets are popular dining options. I like places which offer discounted rates for students. Sometimes I get turned off by hawkers due to their lack of cleanliness. But if the stall looks clean, I’m fine with eating there. ”
Just like their taste in music and fashion, teenagers would rather eat at places that feature other cultures (for example, Western, Korean and Japanese) than their own. Being raised in a cosmopolitan environment, it seems this love for other cultures is inevitable but it does raise the question about what’s going to happen to our food’s local heritage with the new generation seemingly adverse to local cuisine.
I’m sure there’s someone among the teenage crowd who feel that taste matters when it comes to the dining experience. Alison Hoon 17, is one such teen who is willing to travel for the best grub. “Good food is one which tastes unique. I would go to Toa Payoh for the chicken rice and Bedok for the bak chor mee.” Ironically, Alison says her family does not frequent hawker centres because her parents are not fans of them.
So if you’re thinking of opening a food joint that targets the teenage market, the trick is to have inexpensive (include student meals), non-local, decent food, in a space with funky decor and it must be able to cater to large crowds of teens at a time.
So, we have established the fact that the actual taste of the food is not exactly important to the average youngster. But ask them about bubble tea and they can wax lyrical about the calorie ridden drink. This writer was present when the first wave of bubble tea mania attacked local shores. Remember Quickly? Happy Cup? That was when present-day teenagers who are now crazy over ice cream milk tea and taro tea were just toddlers. So I have a humble suggestion for wannabe food franchisers: Don’t look forward, but just look back at what was trendy ten years ago and revamp it. Green Tea Roti Boy anyone?
But in all honesty, figuring out a teenager’s dining habits is as simple as comprehending an adolescent’s mood swings – fads come and go and no one can really predict where the next “in” café or food culture is going to be – not even the teens themselves.
