‘Hawker life just isn’t for me’: Singapore brothers close Chinatown stall after 5 months
SINGAPORE: A pair of brothers who just recently ventured into the food and beverage industry announced that they are closing their doors, having realised that the hawker life just isn’t for them.
Thirty-one-year-old Troy Lee and his brother Scott, 29, opened New Horse Noodles just five months ago.
They left their careers in finance in order to enter the hawker industry, even though they had no prior experience in F&B. After having trained in Melaka for 10 days under an 85-year-old hawker who taught them how to make Hakka yong tau foo for free, they launched their stall at Chinatown Complex in June.
Google reviews for the stall have been impressive, with an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 160 reviewers, many of whom decided to check out the stall’s offerings after seeing the Lee brothers’ Instagram reels.
By any metric, it looked like the venture was a successful one, but in a reel on Sep 28, the brothers announced they would be closing shop.
“That’s our last day. Say goodbye to this chapter,” they wrote in the caption to their reel.
They thanked everyone who supported them on their journey and gave them a chance as hawkers, adding that they’ve made friends among their customers.
In a video that followed, Troy explained the reason for shutting down the stall, saying that he’s known since early August that the hawker life just isn’t for him.
And now, they want to move on.
He also talked about why they entered the F&B scene in the first place, saying that their mother had discouraged them from becoming hawkers.
Nevertheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they had never tried it out, they would never have realised that this is not what they want after all, he added.
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“It is only through trying and experiencing things that we could fit… a small piece into this gigantic jigsaw puzzle that we have called life,” he said.
The experience has meant a lot to the brothers, especially because of the warm and positive Singaporeans they’ve met along the way.
As for what’s next for the Lee brothers, Troy said that he’s not going to work in the corporate world, though he noted that many opportunities abound for him. /TISG