Ex-Banker Opens Stall Selling Thai Runny Egg Rice Inspired By TikTok-Viral Bangkok Restaurant
Earlier this year in February, 40-year-old hawkerpreneur Harold Tan paid a visit to TikTok-viral Bangkok restaurant Hereduan while he was on vacation. There, he fell in love with their signature runny egg rice dish, and wanted to bring it back home to Singapore. Ten months later, the serial entrepreneur has opened a cheery-looking stall at Ang Mo Kio named Running Egg, manned by two Thai cooks flown in directly from the same Bangkok restaurant.
Like the stall’s tagline – “running, not scrambled” – states, the unique egg dish is slightly different from the scrambled egg rice bowls we’re familiar with in Singapore. Instead, this Thai version features creamier, half-cooked eggs that are only partially scrambled.
“After I had the runny egg rice, I felt that this is a dish that can definitely be sold in Singapore. The cooking method is unorthodox. The eggs are not scrambled – I went to Google what type of preparation method it uses, but there’s no description online for how it’s made, which makes it more interesting,” Harold tells 8days.sg.
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How he acquired cooks from Hereduan restaurant
As he couldn’t find a similar recipe in Singapore, Harold set out to contact the cooks from Hereduan. His Thai business partner, whom he co-owns Running Egg and a couple of other F&B businesses (including Japanese steakhouse Wagyu X) with, managed to reach out to the Bangkok eatery’s head chef through Facebook, who later recommended two younger cooks from the restaurant.
This is Harold’s fourth F&B biz – he also co-owns Roxy Square Kopitiam, Wagyu X and another hawker stall which he declines to mention. The entrepreneur, who used to work at Citibank and OCBC, quit his job as a relationship manager back in 2020 to enter the F&B industry. At the time, Roxy Square’s owner’s son, whom Harold is friends with, reached out to him to take over the coffee shop. Harold shares that this was around the same period that his father had passed away, which gave him the push to do something more meaningful and work in an industry that he was more passionate about, despite having to take a large pay cut.
After a few months of discussions, he managed to fly the two Thai cooks – 22-year-old Booddee Jatturong and 29-year-old Areeya Arinual – to Singapore. He tells us they were initially a little hesitant to trust him, but after convincing them for two months, they decided to take a leap of faith and relocate to Singapore. Says Areeya in Thai, via a translator: “I wanted to come here to introduce a new dish to Singaporeans. After I got this opportunity, I decided to do it”.
What exactly is Thai runny egg rice?
Here, the cooks use almost the exact same recipe as at Hereduan, but tweaked slightly to better suit local taste buds. In particular, they’ve made the dish a tad less salty after receiving some feedback from more health conscious customers.
Four eggs go into one plate
Each plate of rice is made with four eggs. The eggs are added to a wok alongside milk, soy sauce and “special Thai seasoning” (Harold declines to reveal its ingredients).
It’s all in the technique
But here’s where it gets interesting: instead of stirring them to make a creamy scrambled egg-style omelette, the chefs only very lightly prod the egg mixture with a spatula, ensuring that it remains largely unscrambled, and also half-cooked.
While it’s still extra runny, they then pour the eggs over a bed of white rice, leaving the grains soaked in an almost watery egg ‘omelette’ that’s reminiscent of a creamier version of Hong Kong scrambled egg rice.
“As the sauce is entirely made of eggs, it has to be runny, so that the rice can soak up the sauce. Of course, we have customers who can’t accept eggs that are so watery. But our opinion is that many Singaporeans have eaten half-boiled eggs. So if they’re comfortable with that, they’ll be comfortable with how we prepare our eggs,” Harold explains. He adds that they use Thai eggs here, all of which are SFA approved.
The menu
Running Egg currently sells five variations of their signature egg rice: Prawn ($7.80), Chicken Basil ($6.80), Luncheon Meat ($5.80), Pork Jowl ($7.80), and Grilled Moo Ping ($7.80). Most of these are sold at Hereduan, except the luncheon meat rice, which Harold added to the menu.
Prawn Running Egg Rice, $7.80 (8 Days Pick!)
Though small in size, the prawns here are crunchy and juicy enough, and marinated in a tasty peppery seasoning. Meanwhile, the eggs are ultra runny – soft, creamy and kinda wet, which allows each spoonful of rice to be soaked in egg gravy. Like the prawns, the eggs are adequately peppery and salty. Quite shiok, especially if you love half-boiled eggs.
Chicken Basil Running Egg Rice, $6.80 (8 Days Pick!)
Basically Thai basil chicken rice, but with runny half-scrambled eggs instead of a sunny side up. The chicken here is fragrant from the basil leaves, with a nice tinge of heat. The well-seasoned, slightly spicy meat goes well with the runny egg ‘sauce’.
Luncheon Meat Running Egg Rice, $5.80
More of a Hong Kong than Thai pairing with scrambled egg rice. The luncheon meat is served in large chunks and fried till crisp on the outside. Unsurprisingly, it compliments the egg rice, though we still prefer the prawn and basil chicken cooked Thai-style.
Moo Ping, $4 for 2pcs
The Thai equivalent of pork satay, the moo ping here is a decent accompaniment to our rice dishes. It’s coated in a pleasant sweet-savoury sauce, but could do with a deeper char.
Plans to open more outlets
While the stall is still new, Harold says business has been “encouraging”. He adds: “We’re getting more regulars, and more delivery orders as well. Honestly, we like our food – but as with all F&B businesses, what’s important is that the public like it too. If we see [evidence of] that, then we will open another one or two more outlets,” he says.
Running Egg is at #01-2843 Kopiwu, 722 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, S560722. Open daily 10am - 8.30pm. More info via Facebook.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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