Amid growing complaints about rising food prices, finding rare gems like a stall in Mountbatten selling a kway chap set meal for S$2.50 is surprising.
The hawker, Mr Huang Shengfeng (name transliterated from Mandarin), came to Singapore from Malaysia at just 17. For 14 years, he worked at a hawker centre in Geylang and got married within that time.
In 2012, he started his own stall at Jalan Batu Hawker Centre, attracting long queues of customers with scrumptious food and cheap prices.
Despite the pressure of rising costs, he refused to raise his affordable prices to make a bigger profit.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the now 42-year-old Mr Huang immigrated to Singapore from Malaysia at just 17.
He found a job at a kway chap stall in Geylang, where he worked for 14 years, getting familiar with the dish.
During that time he met and married Kong Caiping (name transliterated from Mandarin). Eventually needing money to buy a house and raise a daughter, Mr Huang decided to strike out and start his own business.
In 2012, he rented a stall at Jalan Batu Hawker Centre in Mountbatten, selling kway chap as well.
In the 11 years since, Feng Ji Kway Chap has remarkably kept its kway chap set meal at the affordable price of just S$2.50.
Source: W. Chang on Google Maps
Mr Huang refuses to raise the set’s price nor decrease the portion sizes.
The affordable price has allowed the stall’s reputation to spread fast, attracting long queues daily.
Shin Min reported that due to its popularity, the stall would run out of kway chap by 11.30am, leaving the next customers in line disappointed.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
One patron who was interviewed said that they usually had to queue for at least 30 minutes.
However, they didn’t mind the wait thanks to the affordable prices and delicious kway chap.
Mr Huang put in hard work for the latter factor. He spent five years slowly improving his cooking skills, taking customer feedback and suggestions.
Every day, he would reportedly be ready and busy at his stall at 2.30am. Mr Huang would then open his shop from 6am to 12pm.
Even after sales for the day cease, he has to prepare the next day’s ingredients and spend four hours clearing over 20kg of offal.
During the first three days of the stall’s opening, he only slept two hours a night before slowly adjusting his work schedule for proper rest.
“This type of job is not easy, working day after day, so not a lot of people are doing it,” he said.
Still, the hard work pays off. After deducting costs and his wife’s salary, Mr Huang makes a monthly profit exceeding S$4,000.
But how could he make so much with a low price of S$2.50 per set meal? Apparently, he actually can’t. Mr Huang himself admits that he would go out of business if everyone buys just that set meal.
However, the vast majority of all his customers thankfully choose to add sides such as pig intestines.
These often add up to an average spending of around S$5 to S$6 per customer.
That particular S$2.50 set thus allows for an affordable choice for anyone who needs it, while others who add ingredients contribute to the profits.
Given how some elderly people have complained about struggling with rising food prices, it’s nice to see Mr Huang dedicated to having a cheaper option.
Hopefully, he will continue to receive customers’ unending support so his business can flourish and he can provide affordable food to more people.
If you’d like to try Mr Huang’s kway chap, here’s how you can find his stall:
Feng Ji Kway Chap
Address: 4A Jln Batu, #01-20, Singapore 432004
Opening hours: Mon – Thurs, Sat & Sun 6.30am – 11am. Closed on Fridays.
Nearest MRT station: Mountbatten
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Featured image adapted from W. Chang on Google Maps and Percy Tham on Google Maps.
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