S$1 dessert stall in Commonwealth closes after 50 years as elderly hawker retires

Old-school dessert stall Xi Le Ting in Commonwealth closes down after 50 years

A beloved dessert stall in Commonwealth known for selling S$1 old-school Chinese desserts has shut its doors after 50 years.

Xi Le Ting’s closure was announced in a post on the My Community Facebook page on Saturday (16 March).

“Goodbye Xi Le Ting! Queenstown’s favourite tau suan and cheng tng stall has closed,” the captions read.

Many customers who frequented the stall took to the comments to share their gratitude for the 83-year-old owner’s nostalgic desserts.

Elderly woman ran stall for over 50 years

The beloved dessert stall was located at Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre.

According to a TikTok video by food reviewers JioBo, the 83-year-old stall owner had been running Xi Le Ting for over 50 years.

The stall only sold four kinds of desserts:

• Green bean soup
• Red bean soup
• Cheng tng (sweet clear soup)
• Bubur terigu (sweet wheat porridge)

Everything was priced at just S$1 a bowl.

As seen in the video, many customers raved about her delicious desserts, saying they had been eating at her stall for decades.

Stall owner complained of leg pain

After working hard for so many years, it seems the stall owner, Madam Yang Feng Ying, had considered retiring as she complained about pain in her leg.

In the video by JioBo, Madam Yang shared that she “couldn’t do very much” work due to her condition.

The elderly woman also said she had “no choice” but to run the stall alone as her children had jobs of their own.

Customers bid Xi Le Ting owner a happy retirement as stall closes

While it’s about time Madam Yang got some rest, Xi Le Ting will be sorely missed by many.

Numerous loyal customers thanked her for her tasty desserts in the comments section of the My Community Facebook post.

Some shared that they have enjoyed Madam Yang’s treats from childhood all the way to parenthood.

They even introduced their kids to her desserts too.

At the same time, most were happy that Madam Yang could now relax after decades of hard work.

“Auntie, have a good rest, you’ve been working too hard. We will miss you forever,” one user wrote in Chinese.

Another comment noted that it was about time she retired as she had been “toiling all these years”.

We wish Madam Yang a happy and restful retirement. She’s certainly earned it.

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Featured image adapted from My Community on Facebook and @chansaysay on TikTok.