Army Regular Who Played Clarinet In SAF Band For 19 Years Now Fries Carrot Cake For A Living

From 6.30am till 1pm almost daily, Stanley Sim, 46, rustles up plates of chai tow kway for a never-ending line of hungry folks at 618 Sim Carrot Cake stall in a kopitiam on Yishun Ring Road. But the minute he knocks off in the afternoon, the ex-SAF military band regular rushes off for his part-time job as a music teacher. You see, the second-generation hawker who took over his parents’ well-loved stall spends most of his weekday afternoons conducting clarinet lessons at schools.
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Wakes up at 4.30am to work at stall, knocks off at 6pm after 2nd job as clarinet teacher
Though he devotes his mornings to working at 618 Sim now, Stanley hasn’t given up on his love for music. On Monday to Friday afternoons, the hawker conducts clarinet lessons to band students at primary and secondary schools.
While he admits that rushing from one job to another is “definitely tiring”, Stanley tells us that teaching music recharges him. The hawker wakes up at 4.30am daily to work at the stall, and only knocks off at 6pm after his music classes.
He says: “Music has been a part of me since young. It's a skill, passion and habit that can't be done away with. When I play and teach the clarinet, it cures my mental and physical tiredness, and I feel accomplished seeing how my students grow”.
618 Sim Carrot Cake is at 618 Yishun Ring Rd, S760618. Open Mon, Wed-Sun 6.30am - 1pm. Closed on Tue. More info via Facebook.
Photos: 618 Sim Carrot Cake, Joe Yang/Burpple, Glyn Seah
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