At 50, This Hawker Gave Up His $10K-A-Month Salary To Sell Pasta

Before he became a hawker, youthful-looking James had been working as an applications manager at software company ASMPT, doing pre-sales and product demonstrations for software products. He tells us that he had always been interested in F&B, but never had the time to explore his interest till the Covid-19 lockdown period, where he learnt how to cook by watching YouTube videos. 

Thanks to his two kids, he ultimately decided that pasta was his strong suit. “I tried cooking Chinese cuisine as well as pasta. But my kids liked my pasta the most, so it made me want to cook pasta more,” he says. 

This prompted the dad to enroll in the hawkers’ programme, where he underwent a year-long training stint and went for an eight-week attachment at Western hawker joint, Chef Choo Signature, at Golden Mile Food Centre. During this time, James was still working at his previous company, but decided to quit his job halfway through the programme when he was sure that being a hawker was what he wanted to pursue. 

What prompted him to quit his high-paying job? According to James, he had always wanted to go into F&B. “It dates back to long ago, actually. I was a part-time waiter at Denny’s at Holland Village after my O-Levels, and I liked the job. But I didn’t end up going into F&B ’cos after getting my diploma, I saw that [F&B pay] was less than the average poly grad’s pay, so I decided to pursue a career in what I studied instead.”

Took a 50% pay cut

In order to open Twirl Pasta, James gave up his $10,000 a month salary from his previous job and invested about $30,000 to set up his stall. He currently runs Twirl Pasta with his wife, an ex-accountant who also recently left her job and helps James during her free time.

James clarifies that his wife didn’t leave accountancy to help him in his hawker biz — she just happened to resign around the same time he did. “She wanted a change of environment, so she left. She had nothing to do, so I asked her to come and help me,” he explains. 

Though he’s confident that he’ll recoup his investment ”soon”, the newbie hawker says he’s well-aware that he won’t make nearly as much as he did in his previous career. He says: “I will not earn what I  used to earn lah, especially when you factor in CPF contributions and medical leave. As a hawker, there’s no medical leave benefit. If you’re sick, that’s one day of earnings gone.”

Based on his current profits (minus the investment costs he has yet to recover), James estimates that he makes around 50 percent less than his previous job a month.

Giving the current high cost of living in Singapore, is the dad-of-two worried about earning enough to support his kids? “I’m not concerned, I have enough savings to last me for at least half a year. Of course, we’ll have to see if this business is viable. But based on the first two months, it has been very promising. There are a lot of return customers, they’re all very happy with the food, and the business is pretty stable and good,” he says.

As he’s part of the hawker development programme, his rent at the hawker centre is subsidised, and James gets a 50 per cent rebate off his monthly rent for the first nine months.

Since leaving the comfort of an air-conditioned office, James admits that being a hawker is a lot more tiring. He says: “Physically it’s very tough. Injuries and burns are common, and we’ve only been open for slightly over two months, so we are still getting used to the flow.”

However, he tells us that it’s all worth it. “I’m 50 this year, and I have been working for more than 27 years for people. Yes, I have had some successes in my career, but I’m looking for a new challenge. It’s time for a change. I don’t want to work under somebody anymore — I want to have my own business and work for myself,” he shares.

James reasons that opening a hawker stall is a good mid-life career switch, especially since he is nearing retirement age. “When I was in engineering, I was once retrenched many years ago. So it’s something that people in my industry go through. When you hit your 40s and 50s, you start to think, ‘What if I get retrenched?’. So instead of waiting for that, I’m being more proactive in seeking my second career, so to speak,” he explains. 

Trained under former Grand Hyatt chef

Since James had no professional cooking experience, he picked up most of his recipes from Chef Choo, an ex-hotel chef who worked at the Grand Hyatt and now runs his own hawker stall, Chef Choo Signature, at Golden Mile Food Centre. 

“Chef Choo was very nice. He taught me everything like how to fry, how to prepare [the pasta], and how to run the business, basically,” James says. Apart from his pesto pasta, all of James’ pasta recipes were taught directly to him by the ex-hotel chef. 

As for why Chef Choo was so generous with imparting his knowledge, James laughs and says he doesn’t really know. “Maybe it’s ren yuan (good relations), human-to-human connection. He’s willing to teach, and I’m willing to learn with a good attitude, so we’re good friends till now,” he says. 

And the most valuable lesson he learnt from his mentor? “To control food costs,” James laughs. This explains why he has a simple menu, to ensure that he is able to stock up on quality ingredients without wasting money on unnecessary variety.

The menu 

It could be his training by an ex-hotel chef, but James is similarly professional at his own stall. He dons a customised black chef’s uniform to cook, despite working in a stuffy space. 

There are seven pasta mains to choose from: Aglio Olio ($8.50 with chicken chop, $11 with grilled salmon), Cream Sauce Spaghetti ($9.50), House-made Pesto Spaghetti ($13), Spaghetti Alfredo with Bacon and Mushroom ($8), Spaghetti with House-made Meatballs in Marinara ($8), House-made Pesto Spaghetti with Prawns ($9) and Spaghetti Fruitti di Mare ($9.50). 

He also serves sides like Caesar Salad ($5), House-Made Chicken Karaage ($6.50) and Parmesan Truffle Fries ($7). 

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Chicken Chop, $8.50 (8 Days Pick!) 

Our neatly-plated aglio olio came with glistening strands of al-dente spaghetti, topped with a runny-yolked sunny side up, grilled broccoli and chicken chop. James tells us he adds a fried egg to most of his dishes as he’s inspired by Chef Choo, who does the same thing. Not exactly canon Italian cuisine, but comforting enough.

Though a little greasy, our pasta was fragrant and garlicky, with a good spicy kick from sliced chillies. The chicken chop was a tasty accompaniment — nicely charred with fork-tender meat. A good plate of aglio olio overall, if only less heavy-handed with the oil. 

Spaghetti Frutti di Mare, $9.50 

Tossed in a tangy, albeit slightly too runny, arrabbiata sauce, James’ frutti di mare came with a generous portion of fresh, springy prawns, clams and mussels. Though pricier than usual hawker pasta, both the presentation and taste of this dish is comparable to those served at cafes, especially with the large portion of seafood given.

House-Made Pesto Spaghetti, $13 

James calls this his “signature dish”, spaghetti tossed in an aromatic, herbaceous house-made basil pesto sauce that we wish had a thicker consistency. Forgivable, since pesto is pretty pricey to make from scratch. However, the hawker notes that he doesn’t use expensive pine nuts in his sauce, instead replacing it with more cost-friendly pistachios. Discerning diners would find that it’s not as heady as the pesto at a more upscale restaurant, but we say it’s not a noticeable or jarring enough difference. A competently-seared salmon and sunny side-up egg top off this yummy plate.

The details

Twirl Pasta is at #01-40 Holland Village Market & Food Centre, 15 Lor Liput, S277730. Open Mon,  Wed - Sun 11.30am - 7pm, Sat 11.30am - 7.30pm. Closed on Tuesday. 

Photos: Kelvin Chia

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