A Facebook post by the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Feb. 16 featured another young Singaporean who endeavours to become a successful new age hawker.

29-year-old satay bee hoon hawker

The post shared that the stall helmed by 29-year-old Joey Teo is popular among residents living nearby.

Teo revealed that she used to be working in a freight forwarding company and decided to run her own hawker stall selling Teochew satay bee hoon.

Teo left her job to join Fei Siong Social Enterprise’s Entrepreneurship Programme in late 2015, which kickstarted her journey as a hawker.

As part of the programme, she learnt how to manage a hawker business and how to cook Teochew satay bee hoon from one of the hawkers under Fei Xiong.

She then became a stall tenant in the Ci Yuan Fei Xiong hawker centre in March 2016, with the necessary equipment provided, and was assisted by a few experienced hawkers in its initial phase.

Teo also shared that she was paid a salary when she was undergoing the training programme and the stall rent is at a subsidised rate.

"As I have always wanted to start my own business, I think the programme helps people like me who is interested in the F&B industry yet doesn’t have enough capital and experience to take the risk, it is actually a very good platform for us to get some exposure on the actual business without having to throw any of our savings yet getting paid at the same time as I learn and gain the experience from the programme."

Why satay beehoon?

Teo decided to learn and sell Teochew satay bee hoon as she is personally a fan of this dish, which is a confluence of both Malay and Chinese food cultures.

Teo shared that this dish, which appears to be a simple one, actually requires a lot of time and effort to perfect, such as ensuring the peanut-based gravy is well-balanced.

Besides selling satay beehoon at S$4, Teo also sells laksa at S$2.80.

Laksa provides an alternative and is priced lower as part of the requirement in the social enterprise hawker centre.

Teo also shared that timing is important when blanching the ingredients to ensure that they are not over-cooked.

What seems to be a basic culinary step actually makes a big difference to the dish.

Here's a photo of her satay beehoon which includes ingredients like cuttlefish, cockles, tau pok and kangkong,

How's business? You might ask.

Fortunately, things worked out well for Teo.

Three-and-a-half years into being a hawker, she shared that the business has stabilised and she is earning a comfortable and stable income currently.

If you are interested to try the satay bee hoon, here are the details:

Location: #01-14 Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, 51 Hougang Avenue 9

Here's the original post:

Here's the full text in the post for your convenience:

'The next time you visit Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, don’t be surprised if the friendly face greeting you from behind the ‘Teochew Satay Bee Hoon’ stall is a young hawker. Ms Joey Teo is one of the young and passionate hawkers who decided to run her hawker business at Ci Yuan Hawker Centre. The 29-year-old, who used to work in a freight forwarding company, shared that Fei Siong Social Enterprise’s Entrepreneurship Programme provided her with a good platform to learn the ropes of managing her hawker business, whilst being paid a salary.

As a fan of Satay Bee Hoon, Joey decided to learn to cook and sell this multi-cultural Singaporean favourite, which has strong Malay and Chinese influences. A seemingly simple dish, Joey shared that a lot of hard work is required to perfect the sauce and ensure that it is thick, nutty and well-balanced in flavour. The delicious gravy is then drenched over fresh ingredients, such as cuttlefish, cockles, tau pok (tofu puff) and kangkong, with the moist bee hoon absorbing the richness of the sauce. It is not surprising that Joey’s Teochew Satay Bee Hoon is popular among the residents living in the area. Do visit her stall, #01-14 Ci Yuan Hawker Centre.

P.S. Hawkers are central to our Hawker Culture. Support Singapore’s UNESCO bid by pledging your support for #OurHawkerCulture at www.oursgheritage.sg! #OurHawkerCentres'

Top photo collage from NEA's Facebook post

 

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