Hawker Sells $2.50 Sungei Road-Style Laksa After Quitting Sales Manager Job
63 Laksa at Ghim Moh is made using a recipe from the hawker’s grandfather — the latter also used to own a Sungei Road-style laksa stall.
Kelly Ng offers just two items at his laksa stall, simply named 63 Laksa, at Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre – “Sungei Road-style” laksa with cockles and beansprouts from $2.50 a bowl, and large otah that he cooks on an electric grill ($1.30 each).
“I wanted something that I could retire into,” explains the 51-year-old hawker, who opened 63 Laksa in 2015 after quitting his job as corporate sales manager in the telecommunications industry. “The income drop [after a corporate job] is drastic, but it’s enough to raise a family and be just comfortable, not extravagant. As long as food standards and costs are maintained, my ‘retirement’ work is secure. And, no, I won’t be making any down payments for a Ferrari any time soon,” he jokes. On a more serious note, he adds: “However, the most important change is the level of stress. I [now] have peace of mind at the end of my work day. No pending emails, projects or targets on my horizon”. The towkay, who runs the stall alone (helped by an assistant during peak periods), only opens shop for breakfast and lunch.
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Adapted grandpa’s recipe
Kelly’s laksa is made using his grandfather’s recipe, which dates back to the ’60s. According to the hawker, the elder Ng was among those who tried to capitalise on the popularity of Sungei Road Laksa, which was founded in 1956 at, well, Sungei Road.
“You know how when a hawker gets famous, suddenly stalls selling the same thing start springing up in the area? My grandfather’s stall was one of those (laughs) – he attempted to replicate the recipe by experimentation,” shares Kelly. “I would say he got it fairly close.”
While Sungei Road Laksa continues to cook their laksa over a charcoal flame at a kopitiam in Jalan Berseh (relocated from Sungei Road) today, his grandfather closed his stall nearby after only a few years of operation back in the 60's. So apart from the recipe, Kelly’s stall is completely unaffiliated with his grandad’s.
A visual comparison with Sungei Road Laksa’s $3 bowl
While we haven’t had the chance to visit 63 Laksa (left) to try a bowl yet, it looks pretty similar to Sungei Road Laksa’s $3 version (right). A netizen who’s tried both offerings tells us that the size of 63 Laksa’s bowls are “just like Sungei Road Laksa”. “[It] is really [a] very small bowl,” he adds. The same netizen also posted on a hawker food group that he "prefer [sic] this stall than Sungei road".
Why 63 Laksa?
There’s a charming reason for the stall’s moniker (even though there’s no 63 in its address). “I wanted to call it something that anyone could read, even if they’re illiterate. Then I realised that there’s one thing that everyone can recognise: numbers, because no matter what language you speak, everyone knows how to buy 4D,” Kelly explains with a laugh.
“But I didn’t want to go the usual route of having a lot of eights like 88 and 328 (referring to other popular laksa stalls). So I went with 63. It is pronounced la’k sa in Hokkien – like laksa,” he adds.
Keeping prices low
The hawker keeps his prices low - $2 per bowl when he first opened, now up to a still affordable $2.50 – to cater to the residents in the area, many of whom he says are senior citizens or low-income individuals. “$2.50 is feasible for me. It’s not going to make me rich – I won’t be able to buy a condo (laughs) – but it’s survivable,” Kelly says, reasoning that he’ll continue to make money by selling a larger volume.
“It’s a volume game. Ghim Moh actually has a very good catchment – we serve everyone from Bukit Panjang to Pasir Panjang. And surprisingly, a lot of foreigners visit our hawker centre,” he says. “And they’re all able to take my laksa, which is non-spicy. Even three- or four-year-olds can take it. We don’t have any crying kids at my shop (laughs).”
Still, he admits that he “can’t make any promises that [he] will be retaining this price” in future. “Once the GST increase comes along next year, all of my suppliers will raise prices. It’s very tempting to raise my prices too, but you see, this is a mature estate. While inflation comes in, the elderly and the poor [in the area] never get any richer. So I’m trying to keep my food affordable for them too,” he says.
The menu
Kelly, who describes himself as a “control freak” who “likes control over cooking temperatures, taste and cleanliness”, doesn’t use charcoal to cook his laksa or otah. “Charcoal is messy,” he explains.
Instead, he cooks his coconutty laksa broth on a regular gas stove. He serves it in a bowl with thick bee hoon, cut up into bite-sized pieces so that it’s easier to slurp up with only a spoon. “It’s a very traditional style, with traditional flavours and traditional ingredients,” the hawker says. “Nothing fancy. No chicken, no [crayfish], no prawns. Just hum (cockles), beansprouts and fishcake.” Those who like it spicier can ask for a dollop of sambal.
There’s only one option for a smallish bowl ($2.50) as “that’s how it’s meant to be”. He explains, “It’s a smaller bowl so that by the time you finish, it’s still piping hot. If you aren’t satisfied, you’d go back for a second bowl.” He does offer a larger version if you’re tapow-ing though ($2.70 for the standard bowl; $4.20 for large). If you still aren’t satisfied, 63 Laksa also offers otah for $1.30 apiece.
The details
63 Laksa is at #01-20, 20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre. Tel: 6513-8833. Open daily except Mon. Tue – Sun 8am – 2pm (closed 1pm on Sun). Delivery via Whyq.
Photos: 63 Laksa, Denis Tan/Facebook, Eddie Low/Facebook, @jianzhongthegreat/Instagram
All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg
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