First-time hawker Mr Lee Lock Teng, 24, did not tell his family about his decision to start Ah Lock Tofu Dian until the last minute.
The undergraduate from NTU’s Electrical and Electronic Engineering applied for leave of absence from school to start his hawker stall under Timbre’s incubator programme at the new Yishun Park Hawker Centre. The programme supports first-time hawkers by sponsoring kitchen equipment and providing mentorship.
“I was quite focused and didn’t want people to discourage me from pursuing it,” he said.
He laughed: “By the time they found out, it was too late!”
A Family Affair
Still, the influence of his family is evident in many parts of his endeavour. He first learnt to cook at the age of 10, as his mother wanted help in the kitchen.
“I became quite adept in the kitchen and I enjoyed cooking for people I love.”
His uncle was the one who suggested that he try selling traditional Hakka food — his tofu rice bowls are inspired by yong tau foo and thunder tea rice — and the name of his stall is taken from the Chinese name he shares with his siblings.
Unsurprisingly, the recipe for his Tofu Bowls is also from his mother and grandmother.
He said: “My mother taught me one month before I started this stall. She was watching TV and just gave me verbal instructions while I tried to figure it out.”
Mr Lee’s parents and siblings occasionally join him at the stall to help out. While he used to be a kitchen helper at home, Mr Lee is now in charge when it comes to cooking at his hawker stall.
“At home, I would only cut the tofu into two pieces. But he wants to cut it into four, so I just follow, ” said his mother, Mrs Lee, 47.
Previously, his friends from NTU would come by to help him run the store. But as the school term got busier, his parents fill the gaps.
“I know he can handle things by himself. But as a parent, it’s tough to see him work so hard. So I come down to help out as much as I can,” said Mrs Lee.
Overcoming Obstacles
Just being able to cook is not enough to set up a hawker stall – from menu creation to supplier sourcing – the tasks can be overwhelming, particularly for a first-time hawker like Mr Lee.
In order to lower costs, Mr Lee decided to take his own photographs and design his brand’s collaterals. With no prior background, he sought help from online tutorials to help come up with the logo, t-shirt, and menu.
“I don’t dare to wear this shirt, it says eat my tofu!” said Mrs Lee.
The tongue-in-cheek phrase “eat my tofu”, translated from Mandarin, means to take advantage of, usually in a physical manner. But even with the physical help from friends and family, being a hawker can still get “very tough”.
For Mr Lee, his day often begins in the at 6am, and ends at around 10pm. This is his routine for six days a week.
It does not help that preparation for his Tofu Bowl can get rather laborious. Before Mr Lee stuffs his tofu cubes, he has to prepare the meat.
He chooses to use minced pork belly so that there is enough fat. After seasoning it, he throws the ball of meat down repeatedly. This, he says, causes the meat to produce a substance that helps bind everything together. The seasoned meat is then stuffed into tofu, and fried beancurd or made into meatballs.
“It’s totally different from the other yong tau foo stalls out there. What we try to recreate are flavours from a Hakka family meal,” said Mr Lee.
It takes six long hours of preparation before he is ready to serve the lunchtime crowd.
The going can be slow, especially on weekdays. “On weekends, we get three times as many customers,” he shared.
When an order is made, he assembles the dish made of rice, stuffed tofu and fried beancurd, vegetables and a sambal dressing. Initially, many were “skeptical” of his reinvention, especially his parents.
But his drive to make recreate his childhood flavours ultimately paid off. When asked about what his mother thinks of his modern take, her reply was a modest “not too bad”.
That, to Mr Lee, is all that matters.
This photo story is written by Abigail Ng and Fabian Loo from This Is Yishun, a photo exhibition organised by students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
