Elderly Couple Works 14 Hours Daily At Drinks Stall In Hawker Centre With ‘Worst Footfall In S’pore’
At an age where most people would have retired, husband-and-wife hawkers Wang Lu Xiong, 80, and Wang Yi Mei, 72, are still hustling, working 14-hour days running their soybean milk stall. Aside from Chinese New Year, they have no days off.
Since the ’80s, they have been making and selling tau huay zui, grass jelly drinks and desserts out of their stall Tekong Soya Bean Drinks & Curd on the second level of Dunman Food Centre and still display their beverages in old-school acrylic drink containers. While they used to operate till 2am several years ago, they now run their stall from 9am to 10pm daily. They show up from 8am for prep work.
They named their stall Tekong as auntie grew up on the island and her family used to sell tau huay zui there. “It’s like we’re continuing her family business,” the gentle-mannered uncle tells 8days.sg.
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
Business is “very bad”
Despite operating at Dunman Food Centre for decades, uncle tells us that their business is “very bad” and that they are struggling to sustain it. They survive on regulars.
Just last week, netizen Marilyn Tan made a “heartfelt plea” on Facebook hawker group The ORIGINAL Can Eat! Hawker Food for support for the elderly couple. According to Marilyn, they looked “listless” and had no business during the dinner peak hour.
When we visited the hawker centre on a weekday at around 3pm, the place was dim and quiet, with all but six stalls on the upper floor closed. During our one-and-a-half hours there, the soybean milk stall had just five customers.
“It’s so dead here”
According to uncle, though the small hawker centre with around 30 stalls over two floors is situated near private housing, it has very low footfall due to the limited parking space available. There is a small car park in front of the food centre with just 10 lots.
“In the past, people would park illegally along the road, but they kept getting fined, now no one wants to come here anymore,” he laments.
“Among all the hawker centres in Singapore, this place has the worst footfall. It’s so dead here that the government wanted to tear it down in the ’90s but they decided to keep it after consulting residents in the area. But it’s still quiet. Outside of mealtimes, there is hardly anyone here. You can see for yourself. If we don’t open long hours, we won’t be able to cover our overheads.”
They also operate another drinks stall at the food centre
Besides the soybean milk stall, they also operate decades-old assorted drinks stall Tekong Tea Stall on the same floor.
Up until a few years ago, they were running the two businesses singlehandedly. But they had to hire extra help to helm the tea stall after auntie fell and injured her leg while working. She had to undergo surgery and now uses a walking aid.
“I can manage without it, but I use it as a precaution. If someone bumps into me, I am more stable and won’t fall,” she reasons.
This is why the sprightly auntie is usually seated outside the shop, while uncle shuttles between the two stalls to serve customers.
Rent $1K a month per stall
When we ask if they considered shifting to another location with better foot traffic, uncle replies with a sigh: “I don’t know where to go. Plus, we are already so old, I don’t want to anyhow move.”
They are also reluctant to shut one of their stalls as it “doesn’t make economic sense”.
While chatting with uncle, we get the sense that the soybean milk stall is sentimental to them, and they would like to keep running it for as long as they can. “But it’s the one that is struggling, and we need the other drinks stall to make up for sales there. Now we are just making enough to cover costs and our living expenses,” he says.
They pay a monthly rent of around $1K for each stall and rent their commercial soybean milk maker for $650 a month. Drinks at their tau huay zui stall are priced from $1.20 to $1.80, and desserts between $1.50 and $1.80.
“Our prices are lower than others. There are stalls that sell their tau huay zui at $1.80 and charge more for their warm drinks, but we don’t — all $1.20,” says uncle.
“Prices of ingredients like soybeans and sugar have gone up so much. Last year, we raised our prices by just 10 cents, but now with the GST hike, things look even more bleak for us. I don’t dare to raise prices again ’cos I might not have business.”
Their two children have no interest in taking over the biz and have urged them to retire, but they prefer not to.
“I would feel bored if I stayed at home and did nothing. You will get dementia very quickly,” he declares.
Soybean Milk, $1.20
We like the tau huay zui which the couple makes fresh on site every morning. They start their day at 8am to prepare the soybean milk at their stall before opening at 9am. The tau huay zui is pretty thick with a nice beany flavour, and not too sweet. Their drinks are only offered in one size and given the generous serving, are affordable at $1.20 – the cup is comparable to the large size at other stalls.
Grass Jelly Drink, $1.20
The grass jelly drink is not bad. Though a little thin, it is refreshing and infused with a light pandan fragrance.
Beancurd, $1.50
Served with syrup and a bit of soya bean milk, the tau huay is soft and smooth. However, we felt it lacked the creamy fragrance of soy bean. According to uncle, the best time to have their beancurd is around 10am when it is freshly made. They also offer toppings like gingko nuts, attap seeds and lychee which you can add to your dessert for 30 cents.
Tekong Soya Bean Drinks & Curd is at #02-15, Dunman Food Centre, 271 Onan Rd, S424768. Open daily from 9am to 10pm.
Photos: 8days.sg
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
Related Stories
Shopping
