Read the Mothership article about how first dates should be at hawker centres and I totally agree. But as a guy, how do I propose this without appearing stingy?

Better not, even if the girl says she doesn't mind, within herself she prob does. first impression is super important so make it count!

It really depends on the type of girl you are going after. Is she not worth impressing? You can have all the time in the world to go to a hawker after the first date if you would like. Maybe hawker is not her type of tea? So you need to guage whether which type of girl you are going after. Unless the food is really good, most popular in the country, need to queue at least an hour. Then probably, it is impressive.

But having said that, a girl probably thinks you only treat her as a friend and nothing more than that. Many girls know their self worth. Unless you both are still in secondary schools, I really wouldn't suggest the hawker.

When a guy brings a girl out for a date, a girl is also concluding if you are worth her time. It's not just the money. Most guys thinks it the money, in fact it's not. It's the time.

If she really really likes spending time with you, she will be willing to go to the hawker with you. Actually, why must go hawker, why cannot go macdonald or food court?

You don't.

You treat her the way she wants and deserves to be treated. And depending on her values, she will treat you the way you want and deserve to be treated the next date.​​​

My first date with my current GF is at her house and we cooked a meal together. I think she would have been up to hawker food too. If you want something more comfy then a Food Court inside a mall would work too. You also have to consider what kind of person do you want to date. There are many reasons why people would be reluctant to have a first date at the hawker e.g. High SES, Cafe addiction, intolerance to noise/dirt. At the end of the day, if you're planning to marry that person, I think it is wise to not paint a rosy picture of life all the time because you want to know how she behaves in less ideal situations. But so many factors come into play.

TL;DR Focus on getting to know her more than the choice of location for the first date. If she declines, then it might more about her than it is about you so fret not. Life goes on.