Korean ‘Eric Chou’ Opens 9 Hawker Outlets In 1.5 Years, Serves Tasty Value-For-Money Hometown Food
His entrepreneurial path is also pretty unusual, as the Korean-born only moved to Singapore with his family when he was 10 from their hometown of Suwon, a 30-minute drive from Seoul.
Jack’s father ran a wholesale business in Suwon, and was looking to relocate his family to somewhere with a slower pace. “He considered New Zealand, Australia, but eventually he chose Singapore because he felt that there is no racism here. It is more transparent, and the culture here is more similar to Korean culture,” explains Jack.
The senior Mr Chu went on to set up local salon chain DuSol Beauty, and enrolled Jack in the IB programme at an international school. At the time when Jack enlisted for National Service, his family’s financial situation was unstable and he ended up postponing his higher education.
“When I went to the army, things were not easy for us as a family. So my dad asked me to wait for a year before I go to university. But I never went to university,” laughs Jack, who converted to Singapore citizenship after serving his NS.
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Selling Korean kimchi from home
To supplement his family’s income, he set up a video content and branding agency, but business hit a wall when the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly struck. Undeterred, Jack started selling his mum’s kimchi from home in 2020. He named his new online business Jin Kimchi after his mother’s name.
“I like my mum’s kimchi a lot. It’s fresh and not sour, so it’s easy to eat in Singapore,” he notes. Sales were good enough that Jack ramped up his production to a central kitchen factory, which he says is one of the only two factories specialising in manufacturing kimchi here.
Opened a hawker stall
In 2022, the FairPrice Group approached him to set up a Korean food stall at the newly-opened Fernvale Hawker Centre & Market. “One of the Fairprice staff found my kimchi online and asked me to tender for a stall,” he shares. “Jin Kimchi’s mission is to make Korean food more affordable and since we have the production volume, we can make it cheaper for everyone. Restaurants have to charge a bit higher.”
The menu
His menu’s prices start at an affordable $3 for a small Bibimbap (“good for a light meal,” says Jack), and the priciest item is a $9.20 Bibim Mul Naengmyeon. Sides that’s good for three to four pax like a Kimchi Pancake with Squid ($6.80) cost less than half of what full-service Korean restaurants are charging.
Since opening his first stall one and a half years ago, Jack has expanded his hawker biz to a nine-outlet chain (8days.sg’s shoot was done at the Ghim Moh Link branch). While he doesn’t personally cook at his stalls, he knows how to whip up every dish. “Everything is systemised in a central kitchen, so we can control the food quality,” he points out. The youngster now manages a team of 40 staff, no easy feat for someone his age.
In the meantime, he is learning all he can by consulting more experienced entrepreneurs. “I would ask people how they manage people. I plan to stop at around 12 to 15 outlets with this [Jin Kimchi] brand,” he says.
Kimchi soon to be stocked at FairPrice supermarkets
He is also in the process of finalising plans to stock his ready-to-eat kimchi at FairPrice supermarkets, along with “frozen meals and ready-to-cook items.” His kimchi, which are made daily at his factory, will be stocked “one carton at a time” to avoid over-fermentation, which makes the kimchi more sour for eating straight out of the jar.
Eric Chou lookalike?
Interestingly, Jack also bears a resemblance to Taiwanese singer Eric Chou, which was first pointed out by his videographer. “If everyone thinks Eric Chou is handsome then I want to look like Eric Chou,” Jack jokes (he does have the convincing vibes in person). And does he get free haircuts at his dad’s salons? “I get a discount!” he guffaws.
Grilled Galbi Pork Belly Meat Set, $7.60 (8 Days Pick!)
Despite the hawker setting, Jin Kimchi sells tasty, almost restaurant-quality dishes like what you’d get at pricier eateries, like this ‘galbi’ grilled pork belly set with rice and kimchi.
While galbi means ‘rib’ in Korean, this dish uses thick, juicy strips of ‘K-BBQ galbi-style’ sweet-savoury marinated pork belly instead, a comforting and delish pairing with fluffy white rice and generous, appetite-whetting side portions of radish and napa cabbage kimchi. We would add a Fried Egg ($0.90) to make our meal extra shiok on our next visit.
Jin Signature Kimchi Stew Set, $6 (8 DAYS Pick!)
The kimchi-jjigae here is soul-lifting too. For $6, you get a bubbling earthenware bowl loaded with crimson gochujang-infused kimchi soup, tofu, onions and tender pork slices. It’s impossible to go on a carb diet here; everything calls for mopping up with a bowl of rice. The soupy kimchi is good for slurping up, but we also appreciate the additional crunchy kimchi served on the side.
Bibim Mul Naengmyeon, $9.20
Mul naengmyeon, a North Korean cold noodle soup dish, is the perfect foil for Singapore’s hot weather. We sometimes see hawker stalls adding plain ice cubes to chill the beef broth, though Jack’s version has frozen broth cubes. “So the soup wouldn’t be diluted,” he explains.
The chewy starch noodles are paired with julienned cucumbers, delicate sheets of crunchy white radish and half a hard-boiled egg. While you can order the clean-tasting Icy Mul Naengmyeon ($8.80) if you prefer to savour the tasty beef broth on its own, the Bibim Mul Naengmyeon comes with a dollop of gochujang paste that you stir into the bowl to mix things up (bibim means ‘mixing’ in Korean).
Kimchi Pancake with Squid, $6.80 (feeds 3 to 4 pax)
This value-for-money kimchi pancake comes with small prawns and bits of fermented salted squid. The vivid, fragrant dish looks delicious, but we find its sourness too overpowering. Pity, since the thin pan-fried pancake has a fab, slightly crispy-crunchy bite from the kimchi.
Green Onion Seafood Pancake, $7.80 (8 Days Pick!)
Unless you happen to like your kimchi sour, go for this Seafood Pancake instead. Ours was personally made by Jack, who produced a beautifully-cooked disc flattened with a press.
There’s a rustic appeal to this, with coarsely-chopped sprigs of spring onions, mussels, prawns, carrots and onions studding the chewy, crispy-edged pancake. We usually pay nearly three times the price for a side dish like this at Korean restaurants, so consider this a good deal.
For outlet addresses, opening hours and online orders, go to www.jin-kimchi.com/pages/jin-kimchi-express. Instagram, Facebook
Photos: Dillon Tan
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