The Price of Friendly Japanese Hawker Food |
||||
The
first time I causally observed him at work, he was very
OTT (over the top) in his attitude – “hello,
how are you”, “sir, can you please wait
for 5 minutes, I have to cook it from scratch”,
“please go eat, enjoy and pay later”, “thank
you, I’ve added more chilli sauce from you”.
All this, from a smiley young hawker who noticed that
I noticed when I was filming an episode of our Makansutra
Raw TV show at a stall just in front of his a few months
back. I am wont of such behavior from many chefs and
hawkers. They mean well and they hope we remember them
and return in future for the added pleasure of eating
their makan, preferably recommending them too. And at
times I do, and I return incognito (a colleague will
buy or order ahead and we’ll chomp at the corner
of the eatery away from sight.)
But this one was a diabetic’s nightmare. He was just too sweet and friendly. And on many other independent occasions, our food testers would also encounter that same charm. He’ll thank them for waiting and show his gratitude for their return visit. He remembers you. I have had the pleasure of devouring his Japanese set meals on many occasions so this time around, I identified myself. He remembered me, and apologised immediately for being a busy one man show that evening and humbly asked if he can talk to me and cook at the same time (instead of shoveling me off to return when he’s free later.) Lim Kwok Seong came here from Ipoh, Malaysia over ten years ago seeking his fortune and new home here. Armed with six years of sweat labour skills at a top Chinese banquet restaurant back home, he immediately went into the business of learning about the street food culture. He picked up skills labouring beside top hawkers here and before long was adept at making yong tau foo. The same company also had interest in chicken rice, steamed herbal soup and even fast Japanese set meals. Another hawker took him and taught him the dying art of making Lo Kai Yik (fermented red tofu casserole offal stew).
Ten years on, he decided to strike it on his own because “very hard to survive on $1,300 with a wife and kid to support” and Kwok Seong recalls when he was setting this $30,000 hawker stall, “it was a do or die situation.”. He set up this lone Japanese food (because his wife Rachael likes it) hawker stall at Tanjong Pagar, which at first glance, seems suicidal as many office and blue collared work folks head there for the good old comfort basics like wanton mee, lor mee, chicken rice and even fried Hokkien prawn noodles. He struggled for a year. His set meals which average $4-$5 a set came humdrum and inconsequential. Then, a year on, a Japanese customer just “fell off the sky”, became one of his regulars and out of the blue, decided to teach Kwok Seong the finer art of a few Japanese dishes. He went on about his meat and seafood sets and the accompanying miso soup. He even cooked a portion of his home-made kastsu-curry don and katsu/oyako don (rice sets with meat and curry or egg) for Kwok Seong to try – and it was good. He was promptly taught how it was done and this stranger asked for nothing in return. Perhaps he just wanted someone to cook his fave katsu don recipe for the price of a song in a hawker centre. Good deal. Last week, in that fifteen minutes I stood by his stall chatting, a least one customer a minute popped by that evening, most ordering his top seller Salmon Teriyaki set (with pearl rice, salad and a cup of miso soup). His trick was to deep fry, instead of grilling, the fish really fast to seal in the texture outside while the fish remain juicy and soft within. My personal favorite is the chicken teriyaki – fried very well and has a addictive crispiness about the skin, and the unagi set – can’t quite compare to the slick Japanese restaurant versions, but at $5.50, it’s a steal and the accompanying soft sticky pearl rice was paired well. Another top seller, the crispy vinegared pork cutlet set, it was very well fried and crumbed and it came with nary a hint of fat. His miso soup was cloudy, came with tofu and seaweed, and had a nice fragrance of the salty miso paste. Then he stopped me short in my chatter, lowered his
eyes and with that friendly expression subdued, and
asked for a favour. “Can you please help and
acknowledge my wife’s support and trust in me
all these years. I wouldn’t have the guts to
do this if not for her encouragement. My hours here
are long and things aren’t exactly smooth for
us currently. I want to express my appreciation.”.
Well Rachael, thank you too for bringing this once
expensive makan to us cheap and good.
|
||||
