Ex-Crystal Jade Chef Who Opened Soup Stall Says Biz Isn’t Great, But He Still Earns More As A Hawker
After working as a roast meat chef at Crystal Jade and Paradise Group for nine years, Fujian-born cook, Fu Shigao, 51, now runs a soup stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
Shigao opened Lao Fu Jia Stewed Soup Steamed Delights in January 2024 with his wife (also a Singapore PR from China, who declines to be named). Shigao relocated to Singapore for work in 2007. He has 30 years of cooking experience, beginning his career at a restaurant back home in Fujian.
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Nine years of experience at Crystal Jade & Paradise Group
Shigao worked at Crystal Jade and Paradise Group from 2008 to 2015 before leaving to set up a roast meat hawker biz. He rejoined Crystal Jade from 2019 to 2021 when the pandemic hit.
While he could’ve stayed on in his corporate job, his rationale for leaving the comfier restaurant setting is simple: “Everyone has a dream of starting their own business. If you work for people, the salary is stagnant. If you open your own shop, you can [potentially] earn more”.
Shigao also shares that “the salary for a chef these days is not very high”. At his previous jobs, he was earning around $3,000 to $4,000 a month.
Why sell soup?
Thus, the chef opened his own hawker stall, initially selling roast meat like char siew and duck. He relocated his stalls thrice - from Bedok to Ang Mo Kio to Marsiling - but business wasn’t great, though the hawker says he “didn’t make a loss”. “After selling roast meat for so many years, I feel that only older people like it, and older people have different health concerns, so they don't dare to eat it often even if they wanted to,” he explains.
And so, the persistent hawker decided to sell soup instead. Why soup? His wife says: “Soup is healthy, [we felt] it would be wise to go down this path. It’s suitable for all ages and good for one’s health, we felt that our business would be better if we sold it”. True enough, Shigao says that his soup stall attracts customers of all ages now.
But is roast meat or soup easier to cook? Shigao says: “To us chefs, we already know how to make these things, they’re all around the same [level of difficulty]”. That being said, he couldn’t sell both roast meat and soup at the same stall, as the hawker centre only allowed him to specialise in one item.
“Earning more” as a hawker than he used to as a chef
Shigao invested $20,000 into his current stall, but says business is around the same as at his now-defunct roast meat stalls because he is new to the area, and doesn't have many regulars yet.
Thankfully, he is still earning more versus his previous restaurant jobs, though he declines to reveal the exact figure. “Business is so-so, but I’m still earning more than before – if not I would’ve closed shop already!” he laughs.
As this is Shigao’s first time running a soup stall, he spent six months perfecting his recipe. His dishes are strictly MSG-free: “I had to experiment with what ingredients to put in to substitute the MSG”.
He says his current recipes aren’t inspired by those from Crystal Jade and Paradise Group.
Shigao boils a separate pot of pork bone broth for eight hours daily, and uses that as a base for all his soups.
The menu
Lao Fu Jia Stewed Soup Steamed Delights offers six types of soup: White Radish Pork Ribs Soup ($5.50), Watercress Pork Ribs Soup ($5.50), Old Cucumber Pork Ribs Soup ($5.50), Corn with Carrot Pork Ribs Soup ($5.50), Lotus Root Pork Ribs Soup ($6.50) and Herbal Chicken Soup ($7).
They also sell dishes to pad up your meal, like Preserved Veg Braised Pork ($7), Steamed Chicken with Mushroom and Chinese Sausage ($6), Steamed Egg with Minced Meat ($4.50) and Pig’s Trotter ($6).
8days.sg tries the stall’s best-selling Lotus Root Pork Ribs Soup, Corn with Carrot Pork Ribs Soup, and Preserved Veg Braised Pork.
Lotus Root Pork Ribs Soup, $6.50
With a clean-tasting broth, our lotus root soup tastes healthy but still flavourful enough, with a slightly nutty hint from the peanuts in it. It brims with decently tender pork ribs, which we paired with rice for an extra 70 cents.
Corn with Carrot Pork Ribs Soup, $5.50
This simple but homey soup dish comes with a generous portion of pork ribs, corn and carrots. The broth is again light, but this time infused with the natural sweetness of corn. We prefer the richer lotus root soup, but this is a comforting dish nonetheless.
Preserved Veg Braised Pork, $7
Braised pork belly served atop preserved mustard greens (mei cai in Mandarin). The tender, fat-streaked meat is coated in a sticky, savoury soy sauce marinade, which melds well with the salty-sweet veggies. A tasty, indulgent side dish to accompany your soup.
Bottom line
While it’s unreasonable to expect this ex-restaurant chef’s soups to be restaurant-quality at these prices, they’re tasty enough and more wholesome than the offerings from most other hawker stalls. Pro tip: Shigao is offering a $1 return voucher for every $10 spent at Lao Fu Jia.
Lao Fu Jia Stewed Soup Steamed Delights is at #01-20 Yishun Park Hawker Centre, 51 Yishun Ave 11, S768867. Open daily 11am - 9pm. Occasionally closed on Thur.
Photos: Gwyn Lim
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