Business has been brisk since; he told 8days.sg in an earlier interview that the queue at his hawker stall could sometimes go up to an hour-long during lunchtime. Unsurprisingly, the ambitious young boss is now expanding his F&B empire. In April this year, he shared that he’s opening a second outlet for Beautea in central Toa Payoh, adding that it’s like an “upgraded version” of his original stall. And on top of that, he’s also now the co-owner of a chain of soybean dessert shops called Soy Appetit. ​​​​​​​

Beautea’s takeaway outlet, located at a busy stretch near McDonald’s at Toa Payoh Hub, is split into two kiosks. While one offers the bubble tea that Zhen Yang’s famous for, the other kiosk has a new concept called Cup Cup Noodle. It sells, yep, noodles in a cup — liang mian (Chinese cold noodle salad) and suan la fen (spicy and sour sweet potato noodles), the trendy Sichuan snack that you can order to go with your bubble tea. Zhen Yang himself hails from Chongqing, Sichuan, and moved to Singapore with his parents when he was nine. The recipes for the noodles came from his aunt and mum, whom he says “used to run a hotpot restaurant” in their hometown.

The two kiosks opened on August 16, and look as different as, er, black and white. While Beautea’s side of the shop is done up in clean white hues, the spicy Cup Cup Noodles beckons devilishly in red-and-black. You can’t cross-order at either stall, so you’ll have to queue up at each kiosk accordingly. And be prepared to wait; during our visit on a weekday morning, the shop was already packed with teenagers and aunties ordering BBT and suan la fen. 

And if you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of ‘Song Joong Ki’, he says of his schedule: “I’m still mainly based at my hawker stall, but I’m also splitting my time between this outlet and Soy Appetit’s shops.” While he shares that his life “didn’t change” after going viral, he does consider himself an “entrepreneur” now. He adds, “Running a hawker stall is also a business, and you can make it big [being a hawker].” He has plans to open more shops in the future, though he is still monitoring the Covid-19 situation. As for whether the eligible bachelor has plans to find a girlfriend now, he quips: “I’ve no plans. Let things happen naturally!”

Cup Cup Noodle serves four types of noodle dishes: Mala Cold Noodles, Sesame Cold Noodles and two soupy options including Hot & Sour Noodles (suan la fen) and Tomato Noodles. Customers can also choose the kind of noodle they want in their cup. For the cold items, you can pick from knife-sliced noodles or alkaline noodles (which is like a thicker version of mee kia), while you can opt for either sweet potato vermicelli (similar to chewy thick beehoon) or sweet potato noodles (a thinner version of the vermicelli). Zhen Yang had originally offered the mee sua-like dragon beard noodles for his cold noodles, but has since taken it off the menu as he says “customers seem to prefer noodles with more chew”.

Each order comes in a large takeaway cup similar to Haichijia’s instant suan la fen, though Beautea’s cups have an additional rope handle (plastic bags are provided for big orders). Also included: a paper packet containing chopsticks, a spoon and a serviette. “There’s even a toothpick inside,” grins Zhen Yang. Not bad, considering the noodles cost a wallet-friendly range from $3.80 to $4.80 a cup.

This dish comes in three levels of spiciness: Mild, Medium and Very Spicy. We went for the Medium. During our visit, only the alkaline noodles were available for liang mian. The thick, al-dente strands are slicked with a fiery, garlicky mala sauce, which we hoover up with bits of Sichuan pickled mustard stem, beansprouts, cucumbers and crushed fried peanuts. There’s plenty of crunch and carbs here, and the portion is decent for a meal that’s not too heavy. We find ourselves craving for cold bubble tea after all that spice (brilliant business strategy here).

Like the Mala Cold Noodles, the suan la fen here has three spice levels. It costs slightly more than the popular instant version by Haichijia (which is usually $3.30 a cup at supermarkets), though it comes with more fresh ingredients: julienned carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts and minced pork with salty fried peanuts, shallots and celery.

Our medium spicy cup is loaded with a thick, oily deep-orange broth cooked with “chicken, fish and ikan bilis”, and in which float whole Sichuan peppercorns. They cling to the chewy, soup-drenched vermicelli, and crunch like landmines. “We’re thinking of crushing up the peppercorns, because some customers don’t like them to be served whole,” says Zhen Yang.

All the oiliness is cut with a good acidic dash of Sichuan Baoning vinegar, a Ming dynasty-era recipe that’s commonly used in Sichuan household cooking. By the third mouthful, we could feel our body pumping with the punishing-pleasurable high that mala addicts seek (it ain’t good till it numbs your brain, right?). Heartier than instant SLF, and Zhen Yang is planning to introduce extra toppings like “meatballs, beef slices and prawns” in the future.

There are non-spicy options here too, like sweet potato vermicelli with a tomato soup base and fresh veggies. Where the concentrated suan la fen broth is intense, the tomato broth is diluted and a tad too sour (we were hoping it would be like the shiok tomato broth served at Haidilao).

Cold alkaline noodles are tossed in thick, earthy sesame sauce with crunchy veggies in a style that Zhen Yang says is “more Taiwanese than Chinese” (the Chinese version sometimes also includes peanut butter). Like bubble tea and fried chicken cutlets, this dish is always crowd-pleasing.

The bubble tea

This gao concoction has dainty tofu cubes mixed with matcha-infused fresh milk. It’s delish enough to convert even the most ardent tofu haters. The soft, silky texture of the tofu is a refreshing change from chewy tapioca pearls (you can slurp ’em up with a big straw), and mashing the cubes creates an extra thick, moreish creamy drink.

Although it’s called a mojito, this is really a mocktail with peppermint syrup-spiked soda water and a dash of house-brewed rose tea. Not boozy, but still fun and refreshing. Like the noodle cups, the drinks here come with a rope ‘harness’ a la fellow popular BBT chain Chicha Sanchen, so you can securely tapow your drink to savour later. ​​​​​​​

House-brewed chrysanthemum tea is added to fresh milk for this drink. The unusual combo is not our favourite; the creaminess of the milk overpowers the natural floral fragrance of chrysanthemum tea.

This elegant oolong tea steeped with tiny osmanthus blooms fares much better. While you can add seven types of a la carte toppings like brown sugar pearls ($0.80), mango ‘popping’ pearls ($0.80) and nata de coco ($0.80), we find that Beautea’s pure tea offerings are decent enough without having to add frills. ​​​​​​​

There’s an entire menu category dedicated to fruit-based drinks, like this thirst-quenching cup of fresh watermelon blitzed with Yakult and yuzu (get this for when you’re on fire from eating suan la fen). Also nice: the Signature Avocado ($5.50), a thick milkshake with blended avocados and gula melaka. Unlike the famous Alexandra Village avocado shakes, we like that this version doesn’t taste overwhelmingly of sweetened condensed milk.

Beautea/ Cup Cup Noodles is at #01-552, 190 Toa Payoh Central, S310190. Open daily 11am-9pm. www.instagram.com/beauteasg.

PHOTOS: ALVIN TEO