Char Siu Lang Hawker Who Won $1Mil Toto Strikes Lottery Again, Opens New Woodlands Outlet
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Right off the bat, Ivan’s shop at a Bukit Merah coffeeshop attracted long queues for his sultry house-roasted pork. He did well enough to open an outlet in Ang Mo Kio in 2022. Oh, and won another $3,000 that same year from a System 7 Toto ticket.
But last February, he abruptly closed his Bukit Merah flagship due to a severe manpower crunch, and has been operating out of his sole Ang Mo Kio outlet ever since.
He’s back with a new outlet
Fast forward to this year, Ivan has found another opportunity to open an outlet, this time at a newly-revamped coffeeshop at Blk 326 Woodlands St 32.
The kopitiam, which reopened today (May 26), also houses two other young hawker-helmed stalls: Aw’s Signature Minced Pork Noodle and Duck Generation3, the latter run by the third-gen owner of braised duck specialist Yu Kee.
There are also a la carte options like Char Siu ($6/100g), Roast Pork ($6/100g) and Roast Chicken ($16 for half/ $30 for whole). For heartier carbs, Ivan also offers Hakka Noodle ($2.50) stir-fried with veggies, and a mod side, Japanese ramen-style Lava Egg ($1 each).
And just for fun, 8days.sg asked him if he had struck the lottery again. Amazingly, he did. Just last month, Ivan spent $3 buying Toto, but narrowly missed the grand prize by two numbers. “A little close,” he chuckles to us. That said, he still won $50. Not bad at all.
Better luck next time, we say. “Ya, have to wait for the big mega jackpot,” he replies hopefully. “I wish I will strike again.”
The pragmatic millennial reckons that he will still be a hawker even if he landed another major lottery windfall, like what he did when he scored a million dollars and opened a char siew stall with his wife, who now works with him.
He gets enormous satisfaction from customers enjoying his food. “Today I just mass broadcasted [my new stall’s opening] to my customers, and so many people replied with kind words. I was touched that they appreciated and remembered my food,” he shares.
There were also Char Siu Lang fans who requested Ivan to reopen his Bukit Merah stall beside ABC Brickworks market. He says: “But I would like to settle down at Woodlands first, then I will start planning again.”
Char Siu Lang’s Woodlands outlet is at Stall 6 Maxim Stars Coffeeshop, #01-103, Blk 326 Woodlands St 32, S730326. Open daily except Wed, 11am-7pm. www.facebook.com/CharSiuLang
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