Bhai Sarbat Hawker Opens First Outlet Outside Of Kampong Glam After $200K Losses From Pandemic
Hip hip hurray for the resilient Mohammad Asgar, whose teh tarik business tanked so badly during the Covid-19 lockdown that his revenue was only around $100 to $300 a day. “I can’t give up my hope lah. It’s a struggle to succeed for life, for children, for family,” he says.
The 46-year-old drinks stall is located in a rather hidden spot along Bussorah Street, but its owner, Mohammad Asgar, is a beverage superstar. Tourists and locals alike gawp and whip out their phones to film whenever he starts making his famous teh sarbat tarik, which he ‘tariks’ (pulls) from an impressive height to serve the comforting ginger-spiked milk tea with a frothy crown.
But even a famous stall like Bhai Sarbat struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, when footfall dwindled to almost zero.
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Business fell by 80 per cent
Speaking to 8days.sg back in 2021, a despondent Asgar shared that he was barely hanging on, earning only between $100 to $300 a day as his business had fallen by 80 per cent. “My own salary never come, never mind. But I want to pay my staff. Then not enough left for my rental. I save zero per cent. That’s why I’m very scared. What to do?” he said in colloquial English.
Losses from the lockdown, plus a short-lived Bhai Sarbat Restaurant he opened in 2020 and closed eight months later due to a lack of manpower, racked up to about $200,000 for Asgar. His uncle had opened the drinks stall in 1977, and Asgar officially took over the biz in 2018.
Bhai Sarbat bounces back
Thankfully, his shop has managed to weather the tough pandemic years, and Bhai Sarbat is now back to thriving. “Kampong Glam is better now. Now Covid finished already, everywhere start to open,” he tells us happily.
What’s more, he opened his first outlet outside of Bussorah Street just two days ago, at Muslim-friendly kopitiam Lepak One Corner’s new Sengkang outlet.
“I want to expand my business for my children. Of course lah (laughs). I try my best. It’s a struggle to succeed for life, for children, for family,” says the father-of-four, who has three sons and a daughter. Two of his sons are currently helping him run his Kampong Glam and Sengkang stalls.
What kept him going was a sense of tenacity. “I can’t give up my hope. What I dream, I want to do. I want to have Bhai Sarbat in every corner of Singapore,” he declares.
Enter F&B entrepreneur Winson Ng, 31, whose Muslim convert father owns halal coffeeshop chain Yassin Kampung. Their latest outlet, called Lepak One Corner, opened recently at Anchorvale Road.
When he chanced upon Asgar outside Bhai Sarbat one day, Winson approached him to set up an outlet. “I told him I was looking for a strong teh tarik brand for my new coffeeshop at Sengkang. We were strangers, but we exchanged contact numbers and arranged to meet the next day on-site at Sengkang. He saw the place and loved it, and that was how we came to work together,” Winson recalls.
Incidentally, he also partnered Simonboy and Peter Yu to open a chicken rice stall called Singabola, which now has two outlets in Canberra and Choa Chu Kang, and celeb food personality Chef Bob, who started bakmie chain Bobmie with Winson.
Responding to 8days.sg’s enquiry on the partnership, Winson says he has an “internal arrangement” with Asgar to open the Bhai Sarbat outlet. “In terms of finances, it’s from my side. Asgar focuses on the operations and recipes,” he reveals. Asgar will shuttle between both stalls, where he still personally pulls tea beverages.
The menu
Menu-wise, Asgar offers the same dizzying selection of beverages at his Sengkang outlet. There are over 50 options, including his signatures like Teh ($1.80 hot/ $2.50 iced), Teh Halia ($2 hot/ $3 iced), Teh Masala Bru ($3.50/ $4), Teh Campur ($1.80), and funkier picks like Kopi Halia ($2).
You can also get snacks to go with the drinks, like Potato Puff ($2.50), Mutton Puff ($3), Ayam Nasi Lemak ($3.50) and Ikan Nasi Lemak ($2.50).
Bhai Sarbat’s Sengkang outlet is at 326 Anchorvale Rd, #01- 01, S542326. Open daily 7am-11pm. www.instagram.com/bhaisarbatsg
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