Popular Fried Porridge Stall Relocates Within Yishun For Fourth Time, Hawker Lost $70K In Process
It’s almost a running gag how Yishun doesn’t have the best reputation - yet, hawker Jemmy Yeo, 54, sure seems to like it. In fact, he has chosen to relocate his stall, Old World Bak Kut Teh, four times in five years, all within the same neighbourhood. After a short nine-month stint at his previous location in Yishun Avenue 6, Jemmy has moved once again to Kimly Coffeeshop at Yishun Avenue 5, this time rebranding his stall to Old Hokkien. It has an expanded menu featuring old signatures like bak kut teh and his even more popular fried porridge, plus newer dishes like bak kut teh hotpot and KL Hokkien mee. Why Old Hokkien? Simply because “I am Hokkien,” explains Jemmy.
Our colleague who frequents Yishun tells 8days.sg she’s a fan of Jemmy’s fried porridge. “I only found out they closed their previous outlet when I went down recently. I was very disappointed and thought they had closed for good, and have been trying to find out if they've reopened elsewhere since,” she says, delighted that she can still get her porridge fix a short drive away.
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
Suffered $70K loss at previous location
Old World Bak Kut Teh’s first stall was set up in 2019 at block 747 in Yishun Street 72. Jemmy stayed there for two years before moving to a bigger unit at block 732 at Avenue 5, but left again two years later when the coffee shop changed its operator. The hawker then relocated to block 285 in Avenue 6 in 2023, but business there turned out to be much worse than at his older outlets. Confused yet? So are we.
“Block 285 is a bit out of the way, and lots of customers told us that it wasn’t convenient, as there’s only one bus service there. Our sales weren’t as good, so we eventually moved here to block 101 [where there’s more foot traffic],” he explains.
While he didn’t make any losses at his first two outlets, Jemmy shares that he suffered a $70K loss at his previous shop due to the poor footfall. However, he only had to invest around $15K to set up shop at his current location, as he could recycle his old equipment.
But why Yishun again? “We have a lot of regulars here. I have about 1,500 of my customers’ numbers, so whenever I shift, I message all of them,” he laughs. The hawker also lives in Yishun, which makes the commute to work more convenient.
So far, Jemmy says business here looks promising: “Business is picking up ’cos there’s a better crowd [here],” he says.
Larger menu & new ‘pay it forward’ scheme
While he has rebranded his newest two-week old outlet to Old Hokkien, Jemmy still has a second Old World Bak Kut Teh branch in Tampines. “We renamed the brand here to Old Hokkien as we changed some of the menu [items] here,” he explains. The Melaka-born hawker, who began his F&B career back in Malaysia as a kitchen helper aged just 17, tells us that he chose to expand his menu as he is now “able to make many dishes” that he couldn’t before, due to limitations in what he could sell at the other smaller units.
Currently, Jemmy and six staff members take turns to cook at the roomy Yishun outlet, while four workers manage the Tampines outlet, which opened some time in 2020. He says that business at his Tampines branch is good as well.
New bak kut teh hotpot, from $16.80
At his newest stall, Jemmy has introduced around 10 new dishes, including bak kut teh hotpot where you can dunk raw ingredients like prawns ($6) and mushrooms ($2) into herbal pork soup, KL Dai Lok Mee ($8), Crispy Bee Hoon ($8), and Egg Fried Rice ($3).
Jemmy plans to paste these notices outside his stall
Spacious new unit
Old Hokkien’s menu prices vary from a wallet-friendly $3 Egg Fried Rice to a $48 Lobster Cheese Bee Hoon. On our visit, we zeroed in on the affordable pork lard rice and egg fried rice ‘value meals’ advertised outside the stall. 8days.sg sampled both items, plus the stall’s signature Mixed Pig’s Organ Fried Porridge ($6).
Pork Lard Rice with Egg, $2.50
For just $2.50, our pork lard rice came with a generous portion of lard crisps, topped with dark soy sauce, fried shallots, spring onions and a sunny side up egg. The sinful combo of crunchy lard and fragrant fried shallots left us hankering for more, while the oozy yolk added a nice creamy mouthfeel. Though many customers purchase this dish as a side to go with bak kut teh or another main, Jemmy says many workers and less fortunate senior citizens buy this to eat on its own as well.
Egg Fried Rice, $3
This simple bowl of egg fried rice was fluffy, light and tasty enough, but lacking in wok hei. Go for the lard rice instead.
Mixed Pig’s Organ Fried Porridge, $6
For those who haven’t had fried porridge before, it’s typically made by frying “overnight porridge” in a wok, and seasoned with ingredients like black soy sauce and cuttlefish. Jemmy’s version is not the most robust-tasting fried porridge we’ve had - we’d prefer it if it were infused with a stronger hit of wok’s breath. However, there’s still a tinge of smokiness, and the fresh pig’s innards made a nicely chewy counterpoint to the smooth porridge.
Old Hokkien is at #01-55 Blk 101 Yishun Ave 5, S760101. Open daily except Wed, 9.30am - 2.30pm; 4.30pm - 8.30pm. Tel: 9388 5288.
Photos: Gwyn Lim, Old Hokkien
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
8days.sg is now on #tiktok! Follow us on www.tiktok.com/@8dayseat
Related Stories
Shopping
