Ah Hua Kelong boss opens hawker stall at MacPherson selling Japanese-inspired sea bass soup
The 35-year-old owner started the farm-to-table fish soup hawker concept to reach out to the masses.
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The hawker biz is also another avenue to showcase the freshness of their produce and reach out to the masses.
It stands out among its neighbours thanks to its edgy tattoo-like logo featuring a sea bass mascot and their kelong, and media reports of its fish farm at its stall front. The farm specialises in sea bass, pearl grouper and red snapper, as well as shellfish like la la from off the coast of Singapore.
“We want to let people know we are Ah Hua Kelong, a farm-to-table concept, and share our journey as a fish farm with our customers,” Wong told 8days.sg.
The 35-year-old pals, who met during National Service when they were 19, have a passion for fishing and F&B. In addition to running Scaled and Sliced, Wong co-owns Madu Bakery and modern fusion restaurant Pilot Kitchen.
They juggle their day jobs with running the stall. Goh, who helms the kitchen, arrives at the joint at around 6am to prep fish and broth for the day, and Wong joins him at around 10am, after going to the fish farm off Ubin or Madu Bakery.
And when Sliced closes for the day at 3pm, it’s back to managing deliveries at Ah Hua for Goh, while Wong helps out at Pilot or Scaled – it’s a wonder how they get enough rest.
While the lads admit that their days are tiring, they have taken to being hawkers like fish to water. In fact, Goh prefers the hawker life to his day job: “I am in my element here (because) I enjoy cooking.”
When things stabilise, they intend to extend business hours to include dinner and hire more staff.
STARTED HAWKER BUSINESS TO REACH OUT TO THE MASSES
Sliced has been three years in the making. The idea to start a fish soup stall came about when they were thinking of ways to use their stockpile of fish bones. But the venture was put on the back burner as they “had other plans”. They invested around S$15,000 to open Sliced in December last year.
The hawker biz is also another avenue to showcase the freshness of their produce and reach out to the masses.
“We want to bridge that gap. We are always asking people to buy our seafood, but a lot of people don’t want to cook. They tell us, ‘You cook, and we’ll come to you.’ So now there’s not just Scaled, but also Sliced. Pilot does seafood too,” said Wong.
CARVING OUT THEIR OWN SPACE IN THE FISH SOUP WORLD
