The rise of the ‘hawkerpreneur’ (an amalgamation of ‘hawker’ and ‘entrepreneur’) has been prevalent in recent years, especially with more millennials choosing to hone their cooking and business skills at humble hawker centres around the island.
Gone are the days when owning an #aesthetic cafe in a quiet neighbourhood was the ‘dream’ that those looking to establish a career in F&B aspired towards.
From a 28-year-old who decided to turn his grandma’s fishball recipe into a business, to a 27-year-old whose love for har cheong gai pushed him to set up a highly-successful stall that sells 900 wings daily, these new-age hawkers are breathing new life into to our hawker culture.
One of these hawkerpreneurs is Li Ruifang (34), the 3rd-generation owner of 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles at Tekka Hawker Centre.
Prior to taking over the stall from her father, Ruifang was a university graduate working in an MNC who had not cooked a single bowl of prawn noodles.
In a feature with CNA, Ruifang revealed that prep (which includes peeling the prawns, boiling the broth, and so on) starts at 2:30am.
While the recipe has remained consistent since her grandparents started the stall in the 1950s, she is outsourcing work like bowl-washing so that she has more time to rest and spend with her husband and young daughter.
Now, the self-professed hae mee soh (prawn noodle auntie) is looking for an assistant to work alongside her for a pretty sweet paycheck.
5-Day Work Week, $2.5-3.4K Salary
Yesterday, she posted a job listing on Facebook, announcing her intentions to hire a cook to join her team.
Here’s a screenshot of the post:
Sharing that her parents are “aging fast and she needs people to join her team so that she can continue this business into the future (for decades, hopefully)”, Ruifang is looking for “hardworking individuals to join her as a life-long career”.
She added that she is also “paying above market rates” while “trying to keep a work/life balance for everyone”.
From details listed on the job ad, she’s definitely holding up to the promise:
- Working Hours: 5am to 2pm (9 hours, including meal breaks)
- Working Days: 5 per week (Mondays to Friday, including most public holidays)
- Gross Pay: Between $2,500 to $3,400
To be considered, however, a candidate should be able to communicate in English and Mandarin (or “spoken bilingualism”, according to Ruifang) and must be a Singaporean or PR.
She also added that it would be good if the candidate lives near to Tekka Food Centre, has experience in cooking noodles, and is “able to say ‘Come and eat my 虾面 (prawn noodles)’ with a straight face”.
Interested parties can PM her on the stall’s Facebook page, or Whatsapp/SMS ‘Kris’ at 98248918.
Featured Image Credit: Lennard Yeong / A Nice Holiday
