Retrenched GM Became Grab Driver To Survive, Now Sells Salt-Baked Chicken & Rebecca Lim Is A Fan

Income dropped by 90 percent

Despite having 26 years in the tech industry, finding a full-time job after getting laid off was an uphill battle. Chee Leong's contacts were mainly in China as he used to spend a lot of time there. Furthermore, the IT industry evolves too rapidly and competition is intense. There were offers, but the pay was only “around $3,000 plus”, Chee Leong, who specialises in programming and qualitative assurance, tells 8days.sg. 

He had the occasional freelance consulting gigs, but these jobs were irregular and far from enough. And when he tried to strike out on his own — launching a chatbot solutions company in 2019 — the timing couldn’t have been worse.

“We were doing R&D and about to launch, but then the pandemic hit. We couldn’t visit customers to do demos,” he recalls.

To make ends meet, Chee Leong, who has three kids, turned to odd jobs. He became a delivery rider for Ninja Van and later a Grab driver, clocking 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. 

“I was scared to work a corporate job after that”

Jollee too struggled to find work after quitting her senior HR role in the same company her brother was employed at the day after he was retrenched.

“Seeing how my brother was retrenched, I was a bit scared to work a corporate job after that,” she shares. 

Like him, she turned to gig work — being a Grab driver, delivering parcels, and even selling cosmetics at a make-up counter.

In 2019, Jollee, who has always had an interest in desserts and pastries, discovered a new passion — making jelly cakes. She started a home-based business Jollee's Jelly Art making fancy agar-agar cakes that have since gained a following.

Today, she still runs the business alongside her work at Ju Wei Ge, where her desserts feature on the menu.

He does all the cooking here 

The idea to open Ju Wei Ge had been brewing among the siblings for years, but it wasn’t until 2024 that plans took shape.

Eldest sis Grace, who had started her own Sichuan restaurant of the same name in Johor Bahru in 2022, suggested Chee Leong lead a new concept in Singapore. After all, he’s no stranger to F&B. In 2004, he ran zi char stall Yummy Wok at a Northpoint Shopping Centre food court as a side hustle, rushing down to manage the business after his full-time job.

Instead of Sichuan or typical Chinese fare, which is “too common”, they decided to focus on Nanyang-style dishes, though you won’t find the usual nasi lemak or kaya toast on the menu — at least not yet, says Chee Leong, who does all the cooking at the eatery.

It’s more a mix of homely dishes and what the siblings enjoy eating.

“My older sister suggested offering salt-baked chicken and steamed ginger chicken, so we called [our cuisine] Nanyang-style,” he explains, adding they were unsure how else to categorise it.

The siblings invested $50,000 to open Ju Wei Ge last October, starting as a tiny six-seater counter space before expanding in February into a 36-seat eatery when the unit next door became available.

This explains the “peculiar” and mismatched interior that’s part girlish, part oriental.

“The lights were from my sister’s JB restaurant, and we bought the pink furniture second-hand from a friend’s café that was closing. It was a very budget project,” laughs Jollee.

There were days where there were no customers

Though Fortune Centre has become a food hotspot in recent years, running the business hasn’t been easy.

“People don’t usually come up to the fourth floor. We didn’t realise this until we opened,” says Chee Leong.

There were days where there were no customers, even on Saturdays. 

Rebecca Lim is a regular

He must have done something right ’cos their food attracted the attention of Mediacorp actress Rebecca Lim, whom Chee Leong shares is a regular customer. 

“She learned about us through a friend. She hasn’t been to our store, but she caters our food for family gatherings,” he says, adding that her favourites are the salt-baked chicken, sauerkraut Chinese fish (suan cai yu), and jelly cakes.

In fact, it was Becks who sparked their catering service. 

“When she asked us if we did catering, we said yes — but actually, we didn’t at the time,” laughs Chee Leong.

Since she posted about Ju Wei Ge on Instagram, business has picked up by about 20 percent, for which the siblings are deeply grateful.

“Our sales are on an upward trend and we are happy with the progress. I think we can break even by the end of the year,” he says.

Salt-Baked Chicken Burger, $9.80

Salt-baked chicken is Ju Wei Ge’s signature, and Chee Leong is building a menu of creative spins on this bestseller. One of its most popular is the salt-baked chicken burger.

Here, he gives the traditional dish his own twist. The meat is seasoned with a concoction of spices and herbs like five-spice powder, pepper, sand ginger powder, and ground hairy fig (wu zhi mao tao), an herb often used in traditional Chinese medicine, to add a subtle, aromatic twist to the dish.

Instead of baking the chicken in a crust of salt, he sprinkles it with a generous layer of salt and leaves it to marinate overnight before baking it in a combi oven. The result: incredibly succulent, juicy meat that’s savoury yet not overpowering.

Rendang Salt-Baked Chicken Set, $10.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

The salt-baked chicken thigh gets a flavour upgrade here, dressed in rendang gravy, served with fried egg, steamed rice and cucumber slices. The gravy, made with a house-made rempah, is richly spiced and redolent of lemongrass and turmeric. It’s not spicy but delivers a nice kick that adds a new dimension to the chook. We wish there was more of it to go with the rice.

Fried Salt-Baked Chicken Bites, $6.80

The chicken bites are not on the menu yet but they will make it for you if you ask. Bite-sized chunks of marinated salt-baked chicken are coated in seasoned tapioca starch and fried till golden and crisp. Each piece delivers a satisfying crunch, giving way to tender, juicy meat within. Nice for snacking but might be too salty for some.

Sauerkraut Chinese Fish (Suan Cai Yu), $11.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)

A lighter and more muted take on the classic Sichuan dish, it features seven tender toman slices cooked in soup spiked with picked mustard greens. To make it gentler on the palate, Chee Leong skips cooking chillies in the soup and instead stirs in a fragrant paste of mashed pumpkin fried with dried chillies and aromatics.

This lends the soup a hint of sweetness and a nice golden hue. It’s not overly sour, spicy or oily, but still manages to whet the appetite. Each order is prepared à la minute and comes as a set with a drink, soup and dessert.

Hor Fun Jelly, $8.80 (add $10 for agar agar ‘bowl’)

This fun dessert features jelly ‘noodles’ topped with fruits, popping boba and coconut milk. You’re meant to enjoy it with chopsticks and a spoon — just like real hor fun — and for an extra $10 (pre-order required), you can even have it served in an edible agar agar ‘bowl’ like we did.

We went with Jollee’s recommended combo: mango yogurt noodles, passionfruit boba, strawberries and blueberries.

The ‘hor fun’ strips, made from konnyaku and agar agar, are delightfully bouncy and slurp-worthy — a little slippery to pick up, but still manageable. If you’re chopstick-challenged, twirling them with a fork a la pasta works too.

We loved the mix of textures and flavours: the sweet-tart pops from the boba and berries kept each bite interesting. We also got a kick out of devouring the bowl when we were done.

Bottom line

Ju Wei Ge is at #04-28, Fortune Centre, 190 Middle Rd, S188979. Open Tue to Sat 11am to 9pm; Sun & Mon 11am to 2pm. For pre-orders, WhatsApp 8826 9679. More info via Instagram.