But it was only in the past few months that the sinewy, quiet hawker Soon Hwa (right in pic) has been seen assisted daily by a younger, somewhat handsomer replica of himself at his Ang Mo Kio stall. With his thick mop of hair, sharp features and ready smile, Ong Jun Ru, 27, looks more like a cute boy you’d find wandering around a uni campus with a Starbucks latte in hand than chopping duck in a greasy kopitiam.

While Jun Ru is the duck towkay's son, he’s not just some student helping out his old man in his free time. He’s an At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy grad, okay? “I’ve been in the F&B industry for about five years. Before graduation, I interned at a Japanese restaurant called Rakuzen, followed by Luke’s Oyster Bar & Chop House (owned by American chef Travis Masiero). 

"After that, I opened my own small bistro with a partner, called Pardon My French at Icon Village cooking stuff like duck confit. We ran it for almost three years,” says the bubbly lad. “After it closed down, I decided to learn how to make duck rice from my dad since he became his own boss after leaving Longhouse. It’ll be a pity if the recipe disappears with him. My plan is to expand eventually with another stall and let more people know about my dad’s duck rice,” he adds enthusiastically. “Maybe I’ll even include fusion dishes like duck confit paired with Teochew braised duck spices”.  

“When I graduated from At-Sunrice, I thought the western style of cooking and its ingredients was elegant and more interesting, so that’s why I chose to serve French food at my bistro. However, now that I’m learning how to cook Teochew braised duck, I find it harder than cooking duck confit, especially the sauce!”, says Jun Ru (seen here during his graduation ceremony at At-Sunrice a couple of years ago).

He says this all boils down to the fact that his dad cooks from his gut, and not with scientific approaches that the younger man is used to, like weighing ingredients and measuring cooking temperatures with thermometers. “My dad puts all the duck and liquid in a pot over high heat and tells me to ‘just flip, flip, flip [the duck]’. And he uses cups to measure his ingredients while I weigh them. Somehow he manages to make the duck taste good and tender but it’s not easy to get the taste consistent since we have to make a new batch daily!" 

Interestingly, Jun Ru studied accounting at ITE but later went into cooking as he was inspired by his father.

However, he admits that taking the hawker path has been a hard slog. “Most of the younger generation don’t want to be hawkers as it’s a tough life working long hours in a hot environment”. He has three other siblings, none of whom are interested in cooking — his oldest sister is in banking, while his younger brother and sister are still studying.

“My dad and I reach the stall at 6am every day to wash the ducks and start braising them. Then we open shop by 11am and reach home only at 9.30pm. It was hard to adapt when I first started — I’m still trying [to adapt] now!” he laughs. “That’s why I don’t have a girlfriend,” he shares sheepishly when we ask him if his social life has suffered. “But career first lah,” he reasons wisely. "Also, I want to continue my dad's legacy".

“I’m still learning,” he says humbly. In fact, after almost four months of working full-time at the stall, he is still trying to get the hang of chopping the bird neatly. “My dad is very strict about the cooking process and wants to teach me slowly,” he explains.

Ong Soon Hwa, 58, in a Chinese newspaper article about his duck rice stall back in 1999, when he was 39. See the resemblance? Fun fact: though Mr Ong and his son Jun Ru specialise in cooking a Teochew dish, they are in fact, Hokkien.

Expertly deboned and sliced Malaysian duck drenched in a thick soy-laden sauce brimming with over 15 herbs and spices. The bird here is slightly chewier than the softer, silkier one at Longhouse (“our duck used to be cooked in a central kitchen back then, now we braise it ourselves at the stall”). Meanwhile, the gravy coating it is a shade darker and saltier than we remember, but it’s still plenty flavourful with the signature soft braised peanuts.

The same can be said for the rice — al dente and well cooked but a tad darker and saltier than the rice at the old Longhouse and at their siblings’ stall in Balestier (which adopts a lighter style somewhere between this version and the Longhouse one). The soup here is richer with a stronger bitter edge from herbs like dang gui. Meanwhile, the chilli dip — a nice mix of garlicky, vinegary sauce dabbed with a smidgen of richer sweet sambal — is as yummy as ever.

Soon Kee Ang Mo Kio's duck rice is a little more heavily seasoned than the original Longhouse version we used to adore, but it's nonetheless still a pretty tasty, comforting plate. Also, we're glad Jun Ru has chosen to learn the trade from his father — the ageing local hawker scene sure needs as many injections of young blood it can get. 

Soon Kee Boneless Braised Duck, 531 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, S560531, Tel: 9003-4615. Open daily 11am – 7.30pm (or till sold out). Closed alternate Wed. www.facebook.com/longhousesoonkeeduckrice/

Photos: Florence Fong & Ong Jun Ru