Bringing a new twist to the local hawker scene
The life of a hawker is hard. The hours are long and the work is physically exhausting as they endure 13-hour shifts churning out bowls of grub for customers. They start their day as early as 3am and sweat buckets in the kitchen – all for about $5 per bowl.
It is not hard to see why the hawker scene is a dying trade with many choosing to enter a more glamourous industry. However, these brave young hawkerprenuers have taken up the challenge to take over their family business or set up their own stalls, giving new life and creativity into the traditional hawker scene.
The Burning Oak
Jeremy Han was just 4 when he would watch his mother intently as she cooked. According to Youth.sg, it was when he was 14 and learning home economics at school that he realised he wanted to cook for a living. After graduating with a diploma in culinary and catering management at Temasek Polytechnic, he was accepted into the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. However, he did not choose that path and decided to start his own business, and The Burning Oak was born.
Now 24, Jeremy can be seen serving up delicious yakitori and wagyu beef dons at the newly-revamped Bedok Marketplace, from a very affordable price of $14 nett! The young chef certainly breathes life into hawker food with dishes like foie gras, slow cooked beef cheeks and more.
Address: 348 Bedok Road, #02-16 The Bedok Marketplace, Singapore 469560 Website
A Noodle Story
Gwern Khoo (left) and Ben Tham (right) Source
Two promising young chefs, Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham, left behind their careers in fine-dining to open A Noodle Story, a humble stall at Amoy Street Food Centre. Their dish? Think atas wanton mee.
Their signature Singapore Style Ramen ($7) features Japanese ramen with char siew cooked sous-vide for 36 hours and then smoked with wood chips, homemade sambal, and topped with an onsen egg and a crispy potato wrapped prawn.
According to Michelin Guide Singapore, at 16, Khoo switched from his Electrical Engineering course to join culinary school Shatec, where he met classmate Tham as classmates. The two then went on to work at top restaurants before starting A Noodle Story in 2013. The duo apparently only serve a maximum of 200 bowls a day “to maintain quality and consistency”.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #01-39 Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111 Website
Truly Test Kitchen Curry Rice
Joel (left), Deniece (right) and Joel’s brother Joshua (centre). Source
Young hawkerpreneurs Joel Chia and Deniece Tan were just 27 and 23 respectively when they both gave up their banking jobs in 2013, to take over Deniece’s dad’s Hainanese curry rice stall after he retired.
Formerly Truly Curry Rice, the stall went on strong at Telok Blangah Food Centre for about two years, before moving to a bigger premise at Jun Jie Industrial Building. The bigger kitchen allowed them to expand their menu to include more than just curry – incorporating Western food and even porridge.
As of 22nd August last year, the Truly brand has reached the next stage of an evolution in hawker food, moving to online-only sales. Their delicious and thick curry is now made available as Truly Delivery, bringing you affordable meals like their Fried Chicken Chop Curry Rice Bowl ($4) right to your doorstep.
Delivery via: Foodpanda, Deliveroo, Whattoeatsg, Ubereats. Website
Woon Woon Pek Beehoon
According to Eatbook, Javien and Reece are the guys behind the fairly new hawker stall Woon Woon Pek Beehoon, which opened in July 2016. The business partners sold their companies to venture into F&B.
The star dish is the massive Seafood Platter ($30), which is made of white beehoon with scallops, crayfish, clams, prawns, doused with a sweet flower crab broth.
Cooking techniques were passed down from Reece’s father who was a chef. The success of Woon Woon Pek Beehoon allowed the duo to open a second outlet, Fresh Generation, at Bukit Timah Food Centre just eight months later in March 2017.
Address: 2 Changi Village Road, #01-52 Changi Village Hawker Centre, Singapore 500002 Website
Coffee Break
The Sai siblings, (from left) Anna, Jack and Faye at their stall Source
It’s hawker goes hip at Coffee Break. Jack Sai, 32, and his twin sisters Faye and Anna, 29, took over the 15-year-old stall from their father. According to The Straits Times, they then expanded the menu beyond traditional kopi and tea, with over 20 flavours inspired by their travels. They have pumpkin spice inspired by coffee they had in France, and a sea salt mint coffee inspired by doogh, a yogurt mint drink from Iran. Their flavoured brews cost between $3 to $3.80 – much more affordable than your typical speciality coffeehouse.
The trio have also reinvented the traditional kaya roti and came up with flavours like Matcha Coconut Toast ($3.80), Rum and Raisin Toast ($3), and many more rogue flavours. The menu changes every three months, so you’ll always see something exciting!
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #02-78 Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111 Website
BURGS by Project Warung
Having just opened recently in May 2017, BURGS is the new kid on the block. The Muslim-owned hawker stall at Golden Mile Food Centre is opened by three young men Ridz Uan, Lee Syafiq and M Shah Indra. The Muslim-owned joint aims to serve quality gourmet burgers in a hawker setting with affordable prices. According to The Halal Eater, the three left their restaurant jobs to set this up, and spent months testing different recipes to perfect the menu.
They pride themselves on using only the best ingredients, with buns from an artisanal bakery. Some noteworthy items are the Breakfast Burger ($6.50), with a beef patty ground and made by the guys themselves daily, or if you prefer chicken, the Burg’s Seoul Fried Chicken Burger ($4.50) – all prices inclusive of fries!
Address: 505 Beach Road, #B1-24 Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore 199583 Website
Garçons
Immanuel Tee (left) and Enoch Teo (right) Source
Enoch Teo, 26, and Immanuel Tee, 29, had a vision of serving up French cuisine at wallet-friendly prices. The garçons (“boys” in French), who met while working at Restaurant Andre years ago, has seen their dreams grow to four outlets in less than a year. One outlet is located at hip hawker centre Timbre+, while another is located within the food court at Essen @The Pinnacle. Expect their signature duck confit ($16.90) and 12-hour stewed crispy pork belly ($16.90) to be nothing less than amazing.
Enoch had a rough start, according to Asia For Good, who dropped out of school and worked as a cook in a zi char stall. He was diagnosed with ADHD as a young boy. He never took to academics and eventually fell in with the wrong crowd then ended up spending some time at a halfway house. Because of his experience, the eatery employs youth-at-risk with zero experience to give them a second chance.
Address: 1 Cantonment Road, #01-01 Essen at The Pinnacle, Singapore 080001 Website