After Closing Friends Cha Chaan Teng With ‘6-Figure’ Loss, HK Couple Opens 2 Hawker Stalls Serving Zi Char & Dim Sum

The success of the cafe led to a bold expansion: a retro double-storey cha chaan teng along Neil Road in 2023, opened in partnership with actress Constance Song (whom Vicky met while working on the Mediacorp drama Tanglin) and her friend. But just one year later, the shophouse restaurant shuttered.

“After the closure, many customers told us that it’s a shame because our food is good but we chose the wrong location as the rent is too high and parking inconvenient [at Neil Road]. So we decided to give it one last try after learning from our mistakes,” shares Vicky.

Two new kopitiam stalls, one Muslim-friendly

Instead of opening another restaurant or going back to their original day jobs, the couple pivoted to kopitiam stalls instead. In late February, they invested a five-figure sum to open two new stalls in the same Ang Mo Kio coffee shop: Friends Kitchen HK, which serves local and Hong Kong-style zi char dishes, and Ayah Dimsum, a Muslim-friendly joint serving dim sum and mains like nasi lemak and mee rebus. They also continue to operate their original Friends Cafe outlet at Upper Thomson.

“This time, we want to introduce Hong Kong food to the neighbourhood crowd, at more affordable prices,” she adds.

Why Neil Road outlet closure “wasn’t a failure” despite 6-figure loss

The closure of Friends Kitchen HK’s Neil Road outlet in April 2024 may have come with a “six-figure” loss, but Vicky looks back without regret.

“To me, it wasn’t a failure – it just didn’t make sense to keep on going,” she says with quiet conviction. “The restaurant was often full, and we had loyal Hong Kong customers. But our profit margins were razor-thin. Rent alone was five figures, and manpower costs were high. We worked from morning till midnight and still barely broke even.”

As parents to three young daughters aged four to 12, the relentless pace began to take a toll. “We were burning out and missing out on time with our kids. That wasn’t the life we wanted.”

Logistics added to their struggles. “Many of our Hong Kong customers prefer easy street parking, which is harder to find in the area,” she adds.

Ultimately, the couple made the difficult decision to let go of the restaurant in favour of better work-life balance. The decision to part ways with their business partner Constance was also handled amicably. “We’re still on friendly terms,” Vicky says.

“You only live once. If you don’t try, you’ll never know,” she reflects. “When we were at Upper Thomson, some customers encouraged us to try opening an outlet in the CBD. So we did – and we learned that it’s not as glamorous as it seems. There are so many unexpected challenges. and unless you have deep pockets, it’s really hard to weather the tough times.”

Bringing HK-style zi char to the heartlands

Vicky and Keith’s latest venture brings HK-style zi char to a humble coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio. Friends Kitchen HK boasts an extensive menu that blends familiar local zi char dishes with distinctly Hong Kong touches. Keith personally cooks at the zi char stall, alongside a full-time cook. 

Under the usual seafood, meat, and vegetable categories, you’ll find dishes like Typhoon Shelter Prawns ($20), HK Chicken Pot ($16) and a favourite from Friends Cafe – Wasabi Beef Tenderloin ($18).

Mains cover local staples like fried rice and hor fun, as well as more niche HK-style offerings like Braised Beehoon with Preserved Vegetable and Pork ($6). There are also a few cha chaan teng items available, such as Lava Salted Egg French Toast ($6), Ham Macaroni ($4) and Char Siew Scrambled Egg Rice ($6.50).

One of the stall’s bestsellers is a local dish: Curry Fish Head ($26). “It’s our own recipe, but we first learned to cook the dish at my mum’s restaurant,” explains Vicky. 

Her mum runs Wong Chiew Restaurant, a two-decade-old local zi char eatery at Upper Thomson, a five-minute walk from Friends Cafe. During the pandemic, the couple helped to manage Wong Chiew and introduced a curry fish head set meal to boost sales. “We offered island-wide delivery and sales took off. We were selling over 100 portions per day,” she shares. “We decided to sell it at Friends Kitchen too as we know how much Singaporeans love curry fish head.”

Second stall offers Muslim-friendly dim sum

When Vicky and Keith were securing the unit for their zi char stall at the Ang Mo Kio coffee shop, they discovered that a second shop was available for lease. Given the kopitiam’s rule that each stall could only sell a limited number of items, the couple saw an opportunity to diversify their offerings by running a second stall. 

As the second stall had to be Muslim-owned, Vicky partnered with close friend and fellow makeup artist Atiqah Ho (right in pic), who’s Chinese Muslim, to launch Ayah Dimsum, an homage to Atiqah’s late father (“ayah” means father in Malay). They’ve also hired a part-time Malay staff to manage the stall. 

The stall offers halal-friendly (pending certification) steamed and fried dim sum, produced by a manufacturer based on recipes from Vicky and Keith. These include Shrimp Siew Mai ($4.50 for three), BBQ Chicken Buns ($3.80 for two) and Beancurd Prawn Rolls ($3.80 for three).

It also serves local favourites like Nasi Lemak with fried chicken (from $4.50), Ayam Penyet ($6.50), Mee Rebus ($4) – all developed by Vicky, who picked up some of the recipes from her Indonesian helper. “The food is kampong-style, with richer flavours and a more rustic feel,” she says. All the rempah and sambal are made from scratch.

Some customers have asked why they offer so many dishes across both stalls. For Vicky, it’s a reflection of her love for cooking. “If you’re really passionate about food, it’s impossible to just stick to one thing,” she says. “There are so many flavours I want to share, and so many dishes I want people to try. I’ll be letting myself down if I don't keep creating.”

“We’re still in F&B because we love what we do,” she adds.

Finding joy in the kopitiam hustle

The switch from an impeccably styled restaurant to two humble hawker stalls might sound like a downgrade – but for Vicky, it’s been a refreshingly wholesome experience.

“I thought it would be very competitive, but the atmosphere at the coffee shop is really friendly,” she says cheerfully. “Some of the other stall owners would even introduce their regular customers to us. We’ve made friends here – it’s very heartwarming.”

With a smaller space, operations are simpler too. For instance, she’s no longer stressed out brainstorming new concepts for corporate events. And while she can no longer indulge her love for decor, Vicky takes it all in good humour. “In a kopitiam, I can’t decorate it however I want, like how I did at Neil Road!” she quips.