Fans of the comfort food that’s fish soup should love Amoy Street Food Centre, which has more than one famous fish soup stall.
However, one of them might not be around for long as the owner is reportedly trying to sell his business.
He’s hoping he can get up to S$800,000 for the stall.
If no buyer is found, they might close down for good as soon as this year.
The stall in question is Piao Ji Fish Porridge, located on the second floor of the food centre, reported Shin Min Daily News.
First-generation proprietor Yar Choon Phiow, 79, has been running it for 54 years since 1969 when he was just 25.
When he moved to Amoy Street Food Centre in 1983, the stall was one of the first tenants.
However, Mr Yar told the paper that he’d suffered from heatstroke in May and failed to recover properly. This resulted in a lung infection.
As he’s getting older, his health is getting worse by the day, he said, which isn’t ideal for this job as he needs to move fast.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
During peak hours, he doesn’t want to make customers wait too long, but he explained once he starts working faster, he starts getting out of breath.
He has even had to shorten his opening hours due to his poor health — the stall now only opens from Fridays to Sundays.
Mr Yar said he currently has no successor as his daughter has her own career.
He added that his younger brother, who used to work at the stall with him, is also finding it physically tough to continue.
Thus, he has no choice but to look for a buyer so that this time-honoured stall can carry on.
Last Friday (13 Oct), Piao Ji posted on Facebook that they were looking for a buyer. Interested parties were asked to approach them at the stall.
Source: Piao Ji Fish Porridge – Amoy Street on Facebook
He said Mr Yar hopes to get between S$700,000 and S$800,000 for the business.
He and his brother don’t mind selling to an individual or a company, and are willing to spend a few months teaching them how to cook their famous fish soup.
He maintained that they will do their best to ensure the buyer can produce the same taste.
However, if they can’t find a buyer, the stall may have to close down for good, Mr Yar said.
They could shutter as soon as this year, he indicated.
Professing that he will miss his regular customers, he added that he would definitely continue operations if his body could take it.
Many years ago, an interested party had contacted him for collaboration opportunities, but it is understood that he had no plans to sell at the time.
Though he’s now willing to sell, no offers have been forthcoming yet.
Mr Yar’s fish soup is full-bodied with a hearty pork flavour, with fried garlic and shallots also added.
Regulars may like to chew on the crunchy bits of deep-fried pork lard that pack a flavour punch between mouthfuls.
No wonder the stall attracts long queues even on weekends when there’s no office crowd.
Source: Google Maps
On Sunday at 2pm, Shin Min observed that about 20 people were queuing despite it being past lunchtime.
Indeed, regular patron Lin Weiqing (transliterated from Mandarin) said he’s been eating at Piao Ji for 20 years.
The 62-year-old would even drive from his home in the east to Amoy Street just to eat there with his family twice a month.
He said he’s sad they’re selling the business as he’s already become friends with other regular patrons who queue for the fish soup.
Another fan, named only as Mr Lee, said he has eaten at Piao Ji at least twice a week for the last 10 years.
Such tasty fish soup will be challenging to find in future, the 61-year-old said. He acknowledged, though, that the owners of these legendary stalls would retire when they get old.
Since the fate of the stall is up in the air, perhaps you should visit them before it’s too late. Here are some details to note:
Piao Ji Fish Porridge
Address:7 Maxwell Road, #02-100, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening Hours: 11am to 3pm (Fri to Sun)
Telephone: 6773 0103
Nearest MRT station: Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar
Also read: Amoy Street Fish Soup Stall Sees Snaking Queue Before Opening As 3-Month Closure Looms
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Featured image adapted from Eatbook.
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