Chapter 4

Awesome Stallholders

Thanks for keeping my laptop safe, Aunty!

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The Magical Cheng Tng
"The boring Cheng Tng that I took for granted suddenly became super sweet and comforting."

When I was in kindergarten, my great-grandma (Ah Chor) would carry me or hold my hand, and walk to the Cheng San wet market every morning (it was way bigger before the latest renovation) to shop for groceries, as we only lived a few blocks away. Once we were done, Ah Chor liked to spoil me with a bowl of cold Cheng Tng from this particular stall. I remember constantly complaining that I wanted Ice Kachang instead, because there was no "atap chi" in the boring Cheng Tng. She never once gave in to me. However, an incident happened that changed my view of the unassuming Cheng Tng. There was once when my Ah Chor needed to look for loose change to pay for the vegetables. She let go of my hand, and I was tempted to go get the Ice Kachang by myself. 😅 While she was distracted, I braved the morning market crowd, and made a beeline for the dessert stall. To my greatest horror, I failed to find the stall despite running a few rounds (I forgot to mention that I was only six years old). That was when the reality that I had lost my Ah Chor hit me. I cried, and shouted, "I want Cheng Tng and I want Ah Chor!" hysterically in Chinese. After a few minutes of drama, somebody grabbed my hand. There stood the Cheng Tng auntie, coaxing me to stop crying with a bowl of ice cold Cheng Tng. I wasn't sure why, but I felt secure seeing her. The boring Cheng Tng that I took for granted suddenly became super sweet and comforting. And yes, Ah Chor managed to find me in the end. Ah Chor is no longer around, but I went back to the stall with my grandma and mum recently. I was so glad to see the auntie still selling the same desserts, served in the same yellow bowl with the same metal spoon. We had a brief chat with her, and laughed about the above incident that happened 22 years ago. Of course, we had to order her legendary Cheng Tng — the magical dessert that had the power to calm the nerve of a "lost" child. #hawkerpedia æ˜Ĩå¯ļ, Chun Bao Dessert Stall. #01-136 Opening hours: not fixed

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To many people, this might just be a 32-year-old fishball noodle stall in the Clementi Hawker Centre, but this stall has a special place in my heart. When I was around 15 years old (about eight years ago), a friend and I had fishball minced meat noodles for dinner. Afterwards, we went all the way to Taman Jurong, only to realise that we had left a laptop behind at the hawker centre. We quickly took a cab back, and to our greatest relief, the aunty from this stall had been safekeeping the laptop for us when she realised it was left on the chair. Today, I had this bowl of kway teow for dinner again, and she still remembers me (shows that my face really didn't change much)! The smile on her face was so heartwarming, as I thanked them again for keeping my laptop safe all those years ago :) #hawkerpedia

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It was an easy task for the whole family (grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunties) to decide where to eat every Sunday. This stall was always the top choice for breakfast, as we are all meat lovers. There was one Sunday when my family decided to drive into Johor Bahru for a day trip. I was quite sad because I was looking forward to my weekly feast of braised pig's trotters. Just before we set off, my grandma received a call from the super cute boss (I think I "inherited" the special ability to make friends with hawkers from her). He was asking if we were heading down for Bak Kut Teh, so he could save portions of trotters for us. I was just beside my grandma during this call, and I gave her an appealing, innocent gaze (think Puss in Boots), hoping that she could at least "ta bao" the trotters for me before we left for Johor Bahru. In the end, she did! YAY! I got to eat the gelatinous, FATTY pig's trotters after the day trip! I was the happiest seven-year-old that day 😍 Besides bak kut teh, this stalls also sells old-school style steamed fish (get there before lunch to catch it), and other braised items that are off-menu. Just ask them when you get there! #hawkerpedia

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The very first time I ended up in this coffeeshop was right after my 24km route march, and my mum brought me here to have brunch. I ate an upsized bak chor mee AND a wanton with dumpling noodles. I think the coffeeshop aunties were looking at me like I was a hungry ghost. As I continued to serve the army, I started having regimental duties, meaning that I would book out late in the morning. To reward myself after a tiring day, I would go to this coffeeshop, which is about four bus stops away from my grandma's house, and try all the good food there. Eventually, I got posted to DB as an MP, and only got to book out once every 3 days, so I came up with this ultimate order to pamper myself — wanton mee pok plus dumplings (shui jiao), two half-boiled eggs, and teh-O siu dai. After that, I would take a long walk home to help digest all the goodies I had eaten. The young daughter of the wanton mee stall owner soon began to recognise me, and I always got extra noodles whenever I wore my uniform! Today, I had it (without my uniform on), and only got extra chilli instead 😂. This stall has been around for over 20 years, and its dumplings are so damn good, the soup so rich — I hope it stays here forever! Also, I always like how the daughters happily help their mum with the business with happy smiles on their faces everyday. :) #hawkerpedia

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It's heartening to see the younger generation venturing into the hawker trade even though there's no guarantee of a pay-out, the hours are unforgiving, and the hours gruelling. At only 21 years old, Joseph took over the reigns from his father, the proprietor of Hai Kee (named after his grandfather from Hainan). After completing National Service and with a part-time diploma in business, Joseph dedicated three years to mastering the art of braising chicken, and learning recipes for the accompanying homemade sauces. I first met Joseph in passing at a friend's birthday party. Some time after, I was at my neighbourhood coffeeshop in East Coast for the first time, and decided to have chicken rice for lunch. Somehow, I ended up at his stall. He greeted me enthusiastically, and to my embarrassment, I couldn't for the life of me remember where I had met him (fortunately it came back to me rather quickly). I'm happy to say that I'm now a regular customer! My favourite is the Soy Sauce Chicken Noodles, with succulent roast chicken, and a hint of sweetness from the marinade. The way I like to eat it is to thoroughly mix the noodles with the sauce, homemade garlic and chilli dips, and a drizzle of dark soy sauce for maximum flavour. The noodles are nicely cooked, with a slight bite, and are perfect for soaking up all the savoury flavours. Hai Kee has two branches at 324T Changi Road, and Eunos Crescent Block 1A. #hawkerpedia

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End of Chapter
Family Memories
Chapter 5 Family Memories

Porridge breakfasts with dad, and Sunday afternoon rojaks with mum.

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