Guys Behind HDB Private Diner PasirPanjangBoy Open Hawker Stall Selling $6 Curry & Prawn Mee

From private dining chefs to hawkers

Why venture into the hawker scene? Tinoq says: “I’m born in the ’60s, before Singapore was Singapore. I’m a real kampung boy, and I used to sell food since I was nine. I learned my craft from my neighbours, who were pushcart hawkers. All these people are my mentors, and the masters - so my heart is closest to hawkers. I love and respect them."

The towkays chose to sell biryani (at Masala Canteen) and curry and prawn noodles here, as it’s what they know how to cook best. “Biryani, curry mee are just a few of my favourite childhood dishes. I only do the dishes that I know I cook well,” Tinoq explains. He adds that they named both stalls ‘masala’ as they “felt that the word Masala represents us, as most of the ingredients and spices we use are Indian,” says Tinoq who is of Chinese-Indian heritage.

He says he was also encouraged to start a second stall after the success of his biryani concept which he adds is “doing very well”. 

Currently, Tinoq and Dylan devote most of their time to running their hawker stalls. They’ve closed the waitlist for their private diner, and only do styling for weddings now. Currently, their private dining sessions start at $180 per pax, with roughly 10 to 12 courses (and no, you won’t be able to get their hawker fare at their private dinners which run twice weekly). As for whether they plan to give up their private diner eventually to switch to the hawker life full-time, the duo declined to comment. 

The men visit their curry mee outlet daily, either in the morning or at night, to prep the ingredients. A hired cook is always stationed at the stall as well.

“A mix between Ipoh and Sarawak Style curry mee”, $6

The towkays say that their curry noodles ($6) are “a mix between Ipoh and Sarawak style curry mee”. Traditionally, Ipoh curry mee gravy is usually richer and more robust than Singapore-style ones, and topped with meats like roast pork, char siew and chicken. It’s also usually made with chicken stock, but Tinoq’s is quite different.

“Singapore curry mee is curry chicken, plus potato, but the one I’m selling is very different. It’s lighter, more aromatic, and like a soup, but rich and fragrant at the same time,” Tinoq explains. 

He uses a seafood-based stock, made with homemade prawn paste, plus toppings like Thai basil, mint and lime. They also make their own chicken char siew to go along. 

Prawn noodles available at night, $6

Besides curry mee, the hawker stall also serves hae mee in the evenings from 6pm to 9pm. For their prawn noodles, Tinoq says he “fries the shallots and prawn heads”, to extract prawn oil. “When you put [the prawn oil] on soup, the flavour is very shiok,” he says. 

Plans to expand

Dylan and Tinoq tell us that they plan to open more hawker stalls in future. “There will be more coming from us, not only these two. We’ll have a Singapore heritage collection of hawker food”. While they haven’t decided what to sell next, Tinoq says we can expect “delicious old school food” at their upcoming stalls.