The former Crystal Head chef might not be a familiar figure to the public, but he has his many disciples and fans.

One of them is foodie KF Seetoh, who broke the unfortunate news of how the chef Tang Siu Nam had passed away in February 2019.

Here is his post:

Miss Happy, his wife and lone caretaker, had kept the news low key as per Tang's wishes.

However, after having trouble affording a columbarium space due to Hong Kong's notoriously high land rates, Happy is looking to raise some money among friends to help with "paperwork and logistics to bring him back and install his ashes at a Singapore columbarium".

Former head chef

Tang first came to Singapore in 1978.

He immediately started selling homemade noodles at Lucky Plaza, on the invitation of the sister-in-law of the late Lee Kuan Yew, and he eventually joined Crystal Jade.

Tang then spent 17 years in Crystal Jade as head chef, and served as a chef trainer there.

During his time in Crystal Jade, he was best known for creating the restaurant's wanton mee and XO chilli sauce.

When he finally retired, for a grand total of one year, he soon decided to strike out on his own.

Although his first outlet shuttered after a few months, he soon made a comeback in a collaboration with Happy.

But from as early as October 2018, Tang faced some health problems that made it tough for him to continue running the stall.

In fact, here's an update from an ieatishootipost article.

Unfortunately he passed away not soon after.

"They were almost penniless as she, lone caretaker and jobless, had to take care of him in his fading months, after they quit the stall at Bkt Batok last year," KF Seetoh wrote.

Help

Seetoh has promised to help out in any way possible.

He also called on anyone who wished to help to send him a private message.

"Thank you Tang Sifu, and may you rest in peace. I will help Ms Happy in whatever ways i can and if you want to chip in, PM me and i will link you up."

Nearly 40 years after arriving in Singapore, one thing is clear about Tang's legacy.

"This man had done his adopted home Singapore proud."

Image collated from Seetoh's Facebook post