‘I Posted It For NEA To Take Action’, Says Hawker Who Blasted Home-Based F&B Businesses That ‘Destroy’ Rice Bowls Of Licensed Food Operators
So did NEA (National Environment Agency) respond to the TikTok video posted by the outspoken owner of grain bowl stall, Beng Who Cooks?
Jason Chua, 33, better known as Beng Who Cooks on TikTok – where he has over 24K followers – is usually known for his cheeky cooking videos featuring his adorable son. The ex-national boxer and co-founder of Beng Who Cooks started out running a hawker stall at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre selling build-your-own rice bowls, to running a fusion restaurant on Neil Road. He now mans a stall at the SIA staff canteen and went back to selling build-your-own rice bowls.
His latest TikTok video, accusing some home-based food businesses of “destroying other people’s rice bowls,” has ignited heated debate online.
In the video, which has over 215K views, Jason shares how some home-based businesses make hundreds of thousands of dollars without having to pay rent, adhering to manpower quotas mandated by the government, or meeting strict hygiene and safety requirements other licensed eateries must follow.
And yes, he knew the backlash would come.
“I posted [the TikTok] knowing that it would divide the internet. But sometimes, society needs a bad guy to uphold justice, so I’ll be that guy,” Jason candidly tells 8days.sg.
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Beng Who Cook’s previous hawker stall at Hong Lim Market and Food Centre
Photo: Google/Khun Wee Hui Hock, Alex
Didn't he once sell food from home too?
Jason’s critics were quick to call out this ironic fact – didn’t Beng Who Cooks run a home-based biz before?
“I don’t deny I had a home-based biz before,” he says candidly. “But it was only when my restaurants or cafes were under renovation – it was never my main business.”
Jason says he only sold food from home for three weeks in 2024, twice weekly, during a period when his restaurant was undergoing renovation.
“Yes, the profit was good as there was no overheads or rental, and utilities fall under the cheaper domestic rate,” he says. “But by ‘profit’, I mean enough to cover household bills and utilities. I didn’t take many orders. The money went to personal expenses and savings.”
Still, he has no regrets about not sticking to a home-based biz.
“For someone who started out as a hawker, I’m in a way indebted to hawkers and to building the foundation of hawker food culture,” he explains. “Hence, I won’t add rocks to a boat that might sink this culture.”
Blunt & proud of his “Ah Beng” roots, Jason went from being a national boxer with nearly 50 fights under his belt to hawker.
Who are the “black sheep” he’s referring to?
While Jason is sympathetic to many home-based F&B folk – “I know some of them are single mums or caregivers just trying to get by”.
“The ‘black sheep’ are the ones treating home-based operations like full-time, high-revenue businesses without going through the licensing, manpower, or hygiene requirements the rest of us [licensed food operators] face,” he explains.
What netizens are saying
Reactions to Jason’s video have been mixed. While some F&B business owners and consumers agree with him, others urge empathy and understanding.
One commented: “Home-based [food biz] is fine if they are cheap, but they charge cafe prices or higher, don’t know why people still support them.” Another, who identified as a delivery rider, shared: “I’ve visited numerous home-based businesses for food pickups, and honestly, none of the homes were properly cleaned.”
Still, others urge empathy and context, pointing out that home-based ventures are sometimes their only option. “What if it is my rice bowl?” one asked. “It’s too expensive to pay for certs,” said another. Some simply shrugged: “The world is not fair. Everyone needs to adapt.”
One netizen brought up how this issue extends beyond food, pointing out that home-based salons, aesthetic clinics, and other trades face similar scrutiny. They noted that both physical and home-based setups attract different customer bases. “For myself, I won’t go to a home-based [hair] salon, but I love doing my lashes at a home-based biz,” they say.
“I posted it for NEA and SFA to take action”
Jason’s stance? Not to attack small home-based business owners, but to push for fairer rules.
“I posted it for NEA (National Environment Agency) and SFA (Singapore Food Agency) to take action. Sometimes society just needs a bad guy to turn injustice into justice.”
He admits, however, that neither agency has responded to his videos. “But there are many silent supporters, mainly F&B shop owners, who messaged me to thank me for speaking up,” he shares.
“Once you hit $100K, $300K, $1M [in revenue], that’s when you should really move to a shop”
Amid the debate, Jason posted a follow-up video to clarify his stance: “I still do not apologise to anybody ’cos this is my account, and I have my own point of view”. He adds: “If you want to run your home-based business, fair enough – I hope you’re happy doing that,” he said. “If it's on a small scale due to family difficulties or personal problems, that’s okay.”
His issue, he explained, is with those making hundreds of thousands from such setups without transitioning into proper licensed premises. “Once you hit $100K, $300K, $1M [in revenue], that is the issue. That is when you should really move to a shop.”
Beng Who Cooks’ former restaurant on Neil Road
Photo: Google/Yeo G S
Reality of running a restaurant
Having run both hawker stalls and a restaurant, Jason knows the challenges firsthand. Rent is steep – he cites a friend’s Tanjong Pagar Plaza unit’s rent jumping from $3,500 to $15,000 after its two-year lease ended.
Similarly, his own Neil Road restaurant’s rent also rose from $8,000 to $13,000 after two years.
Then there’s manpower — there’s a strict local-to-foreign worker ratio requirement at restaurants. “How many SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) can afford to hire five to seven locals just to replace one foreign worker?” asks Jason.
In contrast, some large home-based F&B operators, he claims, sometimes delegate dishwashing and cleaning to domestic helpers for $700 a month. This, however, is not legal.
Beng Who Cook’s hawker stall in SIA Training Centre canteen
Why he downgraded from a restaurant to canteen stall
Jason first began Beng Who Cooks as a hawker stall at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre in 2018, selling grain bowls. After a stint running a full-fledged restaurant in Neil Road, which opened in 2020, he faced challenges, including rising rent, manpower shortages, which caused him to miss time with his family, especially his newborn son. The restaurant eventually closed in 2022.
After navigating the ups and downs of running a restaurant – including working with business partners – Jason decided it was time for a reset. “I just wanted to restart to the time I felt happiest, and that was when I first began as a hawker,” he says.
He moved into the SIA Training Centre’s staff canteen around October 2023, where his parents own a fruit stall. The decision, he explains, was less about expansion and more about peace of mind. “Heading back to the hawker life was more for my mental health over everything,” he shares.
The move also came with practical perks: the stall, open only on weekdays to SIA staff, has a rental rate of around $1,700–$2,000, which includes utilities, pest control, and other charges.
Jason says business is stable. “Both my stalls are under SIA, and only staff members can enter, so I’m not really affected by outside factors. At the end of the day, I think I have a good salary.”
Besides the stall at the SIA Training Centre, Jason also recently opened a second outlet in Changi, which is likewise for SIA staff only. “I’ve been here for over two years, and the new outlet has been running for about two months. It’s going quite steady,” he adds.
Though he’s not directly affected by the rise of home-based-businesses, Jason chose to speak up on the issue, because: “I just can’t stop when many of these ‘black sheep’ are indirectly destroying a lot of my fellow comrades’ rice bowls.”
Beng Who Cooks is only open to SIA staff members. Located at 720 Upp Changi Rd E, SIA Training Centre, S486852. Tel: 9339 8445. More info via Instagram & Facebook.
Photos: Beng Who Cooks
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