A short, dramatic video about a local fishball noodle stall was recently made, and as it turns out, there is a pretty amazing story behind the aptly named hawker stall, The Fishball Story.

How dramatic is the video?

• Intense drum beats ✓
• Black and white footage ✓
• Extreme close up shots (so close you can see the sweat of passion and hardwork) ✓
• Man painting giant calligraphy strokes of Chinese characters on ground ✓
• Strong manly narrative from the protagonist (slightly singlish, but still manly) ✓

The Fishball Story is helmed by 27-year-old hawkerpreneur Douglas Ng. You can see him here opening the shutters of his Geylang stall before daybreak.

My passion is to preserve hawker culture

Inspired by his grandmother’s recipe and her insistence on using only the best ingredients, the fishballs and fishcakes at The Fishball Story are all handmade by Douglas in his central kitchen, with 100% yellowtail fish and 0% flour.

200% old-school, hand-made nostalgic flavours.

Seen here, Douglas skillfully crafts a fishball with a spoon, and stares intensely at it.

And here, watch as a bowl of noodles is dramatically and artistically created.

Just in case you need a break from the drama of the noir palette, here’s the bowl in its full glory.

Ambition. Determination

In between frames of dramatic fishball making and noodle cooking, Chinese characters are painted on the ground with a giant paintbrush.

Drama? Yes and no. Jokes aside, Douglas certainly embodies both words.

With a diploma in electrical computer and communications engineering, Douglas decided to jump into the food business in 2014, wielding only his grandmother’s fishball recipe and a culinary dream. He humbly started as a hawker to save start-up costs, and within a mere two years, The Fishball Story was listed on the Michelin Bib Gourmand Guide.

To walk fast you walk alone, to walk far you walk together

Towards the end of the video, we see some heartwarming slow-mo shots of Douglas and his crew, smiling, laughing, tossing Yusheng (or maybe it’s mee-pok they’re throwing about, can’t tell, cause b/w footage).

In the voiceover, Douglas says he is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him a 100% on his unorthodox journey.

With that, we quickly segue into two other folks who helped make this video awe-inspiring (noting also of their amazing talents and passion):

There is Malik Mazlan, a 29-year-old Malay who is highly skilled in Chinese calligraphy. He was featured earlier painting the large Chinese characters for “Ambition” and “Determination”.

And Arthur Choo, a 30-year-old homegrown cajon player, whose beats lend to the strong rhythm that resonates through the video.

Make my fishball noodles world famous

At the end of the video, Douglas’ new dream is to expand his fishball stall both locally and internationally, something he says he is already working to make happen.

Hopefully, that raging hawker spirit will help him succeed abroad soon. Yes to SG fishball noodles abroad!

Check out Douglas’s Kungfu epic here.

This sponsored post by MCI, as part of the SG Passion Made Possible campaign, helps pay for this writer to achieve her dreams and write her own story.