Ex-Designers & Din Tai Fung Chefs Open Hawker Stall In Yishun Selling Pork Chop Fried Rice

Both hawkers were last “assistant chefs” (a management role despite the name — they oversaw food preparation and reported to the head chef) at the Din Tai Fung outlet in Wisma Atria. Boon Hiong left the chain earlier in 2020 to start a Western hawker stall with a friend, though that didn’t pan out. Later, he called Wee Peng and the two decided to go into business together.

Ironically, both of them never started out wanting to be chefs. Wee Peng, who’s single, graduated from Lasalle College of the Arts with a degree in Fine Arts, before working as a freelance artist for half a year. He shares: “I was doing [artwork] commissioned by people, and also sold some paintings. But it was very difficult to make money, which was why I joined Din Tai Fung as a trainee chef in 2003.”

Meanwhile, Boon Hiong first worked in Singapore as a graphic design assistant for two years, before finding a job in the cargo sector. He only applied for a position at Din Tai Fung after happening to peer through the window at one of its outlets, where he was mesmerised by the chefs whipping up the restaurant’s famed xiao long bao. “I felt that it was very interesting, so I decided to join them to learn how to make the dumplings [for my then-girlfriend],” the hawker, now married with two kids, admits with a laugh.

Both ended up leaving Din Tai Fung and getting into business together as they shared similar aspirations. “For me, setting up my own F&B business has always been my goal,” Wee Peng says. “But I ended up staying longer than expected [at DTF]. Now I’m not young anymore. I didn’t want to have any regrets by not fulfilling my dream before it’s too late.”

As for Boon Hiong, the smiley hawker muses, “I think it’s quite common as a chef [to leave] after working for others for a long time. We want to take our experience and turn it into a business, whether it’s in a kopitiam or restaurant, and hopefully do something for ourselves” – which is why the hawkers decided to join other DTF alums like the hawkers behind Ding Gua Gua (whom they’ve worked with in the past) and open a joint centered around fried rice.

The men say that their recipes are a riff from the recipes at DTF. “We’re very confident about our product. Actually, we’re not doing anything very different from other egg fried rice stalls – we’re just focusing on consistency and the quality of our food,” Wee Peng declares.

He doesn’t believe that the egg fried rice hawker market is oversaturated. “Every chef cooks fried rice a bit differently, depending on their skills, ingredients and personal preferences. As long as our food is good, people will come back to try it again,” he reasons.

Opening Fire Rice cost the pair around $30k – they tell us that business has been slow at the relatively quiet kopitiam in the heartlands. Rising costs of ingredients and electricity have also put pressure on the hawkers, but they haven’t inched prices up yet. “The situation is very fluid – prices have gone up three times since we opened. We won’t change prices first, because we’re in a coffeeshop – you can’t charge too high, or people will eat elsewhere,” Boon Hiong adds.

While they eventually hope to expand their business, the pair have no plans to sell xiao long bao despite Boon Hiong’s skills in that area, as it demands more “space and time” than the hawkers can afford. “You need to make the skin and the filling, someone to wrap it, and a steamer. It’s too much to do [together] with fried rice,” Boon Hiong tells us.

Fire Rice offers two types of fried rice: Plain ($4) or Sambal ($4.50) with toppings like fried pork chop, shrimp, shimeji mushrooms or smoked duck. Three types of chicken wings are also available. Compared to some of the fancier fried rice joints we’ve visited recently, it’s quite affordable – the most expensive dish is $7.

Boon Hiong says that both of them are capable of manning the wok, though it’s the more experienced Wee Peng who fries the rice during our photo shoot, while Boon Hiong prepares the side dishes and plates the orders.

Wee Peng’s experience with a wok is apparent – he cracks in two eggs before cooking them until barely set, tossing in a carefully measured portion of Taiwanese pearl rice that he tosses over a roaring flame. This yields wonderfully chewy, well-separated grains with a subtle smokiness and good eggy fragrance. The pork chop, marinated overnight with five-spice powder, ginger and soya sauce, is nicely savoury without being overpowered by the spices, and above all, it’s superbly tender. It’s dusted in a blend of various chilli powders, though we find the heat almost imperceptible. There’s a pretty typical dried chilli oil on the side if you need extra heat.

We got an a la carte version of the black pepper-dusted pork chop to try. The pepper, sourced from Sarawak, packs a nice floral, earthy aroma with just a touch of heat – surprisingly, more so than the spicy version, but it might just depend on how heavy Boon Hiong’s hand is on that particular day. Between the two, we’d probably go with this one.

Sadly, the sambal version isn’t as well-executed (we’re usually big fans of sambal fried rice). The sambal belacan is spicy, but lacks savoury oomph. Thankfully, it’s not greasy and still pretty enjoyable – the frozen shrimp on top were pleasantly crunchy and sweet too.

Thin slices of smoked duck that the hawkers torch before laying on a plate of fried rice. It packs an agreeable smoky char and a nice fragrance from the black pepper – not bad, if you’re not big on the usual pork chop.

The hawkers offer springy shimeji mushrooms for customers looking for “lighter-tasting options”, which they recommend pairing with shrimp (mushroom fried rice alone costs $5.50). While the shrooms taste pleasant and homely on their own, we’d much rather get the pork chop instead.

There’s Plain ($1.50), Sweet & Spicy ($1.70) and Prawn Paste ($1.70) chicken wings on offer — not common at other Din Tai Fung copycat hawkers we’ve visited. We like Fire Rice’s har cheong gai best (middle in pic; Wee Peng tells us that the recipe used for this is adapted from the one at Din Tai Fung). The golden-brown wings are crisp-skinned with a juicy interior, nicely funky and umami thanks to an overnight marination in prawn paste. The plain version is good too if you prefer a simpler salt and pepper-scented chook, though we find the “three types of chilli sauces” drizzled over the Sweet & Spicy wings a bit distracting.

Decently tasty egg fried rice by yet another pair of ex-Din Tai Fung chefs-turned-hawkers. However, it must be said their pork chop is one of the tenderest versions we’ve had in a kopitiam. We reckon this is about 70 percent comparable to a plate from Din Tai Fung, but for around half the price. Order some of the delish har cheong gai here too, but skip the middling sambal fried rice.

Fire Rice is at Blk 732 Yishun Ave 5, S760732. Tel: 92962917. Open daily 11am – 9pm. More info via Facebook. Delivery via Foodpanda.

Photos: Alvin Teo

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