Jurong BBQ Seafood Stall Closes Temporarily Due To ‘Heartbreak’, Turns Out M’sian Staff Returned Home

Jurong BBQ Seafood Stall Puts Up Sign Announcing 1-Week Closure Due To Chef’s ‘Heartbreak’

It’s never easy going through a breakup. That’s why we shouldn’t really blame anyone for needing some time off after a painful split.

That was seemingly the case for an employee of a BBQ seafood stall in Jurong. On 20 Apr, Facebook user Sky Qiang shared a photo showing a peculiar sign placed on the counter.

The sign states in Chinese that the chef had “fallen out of love” and will be taking a week off to rest.

After some digging, however, it turns out that everything’s fine — the owner has since clarified that it was just a cheeky way of announcing the stall’s temporary closure.

Sign at Jurong BBQ stall says chef “fell out of love”

The Jurong branch of seafood stall Bro’s BBQ recently ceased operations for seven days.

To inform the public, a makeshift sign was placed on the counter, which reads, “The chef has fallen out of love. He has gone for a walk by the sea to heal. He will rest for one more week (7 to 13 Apr). Don’t worry, the chef will not jump into the sea.”

Sky Qiang posted a photo of the sign in a Facebook community group and wrote, “Chef, you must come back and start work.” Commenters chimed in with encouraging messages for the supposedly heartbroken cook.

Stall owner clarifies it was a joke

As it turns out, the stall owner who put up the sign, Mr Ye, was just being cheeky.

Speaking to Sin Chew Daily, he shared that the pandemic has affected a lot of people over the past two years.

So, when he needed to convey that the chef was being temporarily transferred to another branch, he decided to do it in an interesting way that would bring a bit of joy to everyone.

Manpower crunch due to Malaysian employees returning home

Mr Ye explained that after the Singapore-Malaysia borders reopened, he allowed his Malaysian staff to return home in batches.

Many of them had apparently not been home since Covid-19 struck, and he understands how much they must have missed their families.

Due to the manpower crunch, he had to transfer the chef of the Jurong branch to another location to help out for a while.

Mr Ye himself hails from Johor and is now a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR). Since March last year, he has opened three Bro’s BBQ branches — the first in Tampines, the second in Toa Payoh, and the third in Jurong.

What a great boss

Too often these days, we hear stories about terrible bosses who couldn’t care less about their employees’ well-being.

This is why Mr Ye’s actions are so inspiring. Not only did he put up with a manpower crunch to allow his staff to go home, but he also faced the situation with wit and humour.

Now, if only more employers out there were like him.

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Featured image adapted from Sky Qiang Facebook and Facebook