Hi, I’m Ryan Kueh, a Singapore-based author and researcher. I explore how everyday practices — especially what we eat and how we eat — reveal Singapore’s history, identity, and governance.

My bestselling From Streets to Stalls (2024) traces the history and evolution of hawking and hawker centres in Singapore. I am also the co-editor of Ten Year Series: The Singaporean Examination (2025), an SG60 anthology of essays from Singaporeans around the world.

A third book, Hawker Matters: Power, Food and the Everyday Politics of Singapore, is currently in the works and expected to be completed in the second half of 2027.  It will explore the everyday politics, economics, and sociology of hawker culture and Nanyang Chinese food in Singapore.

I hold a master’s degree from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar, and a bachelor’s degree from Yale–NUS College, reading PPE and History. 

I was also included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (Arts) class of 2026.

By day (and often well beyond 9 to 5, much to the chagrin of my wife), I work at Bain & Company, helping small institutions grow big, and big institutions better.

On my off days, you can usually find me kopi hopping somewhere.