Ex-teacher with master's degree sells soup at Yishun hawker stall & continues tutoring in evenings

When life gives you ingredients, make soup.

Nigel Chua | June 07, 2020, 05:43 PM

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"I don’t have any experience in the F&B sector, but I do have my family’s homemade tonic soup recipes," said Pamela Low, a former teacher, and newly-minted hawker.

The 28-year-old Low had graduated with a Master's degree in Learning Sciences & Technologies in 2019, according to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN).

However, she began to consider a career switch after stumbling upon Timbre Group's Hawkerprenuers Incubation Programme at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, which offers discounted rental and access to a mentorship programme.

Initial doubts about career switch

Low had initially put her hawker ambitions to rest, due to doubts over the feasibility of her plan.

However, after a visit to the hawker centre, she decided to take on the challenge.

"If you don't do it now, you will never do it," she told herself.

This ended up being enough for Low to decide to forgo her previous career as a tuition teacher, to start Soup Scholar, a hawker stall selling herbal and tonic soups.

She started to plan for the stall in December 2019, and opened in March 2020.

Challenges due to Covid-19

Opening the stall in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic has not been easy, as business has been affected by the dearth of dine-in patrons.

To help make ends meet, she has resorted to operating the stall with her mother during the day, and giving tuition in the evenings.

Her brother takes over the stall at night, she told SMDN.

Lately, however, Low has seen her monthly sales increase by 25 to 30 per cent, thanks to food delivery platforms, according to a Facebook post featuring Low, by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Dishes on offer at Soup Scholar

Low says that the soups on sale at her stall do not contain MSG and preservatives.

The stall offers "highly nutritious soup with just the right amount of ingredients, at affordable prices" in line with the concept that "less is more".

You can order from Low's stall, Soup Scholar, via the Timbre+ Hawkers’ Oddle page, which is offered to all stallholders at Yishun Park Hawker Centre at no extra cost, according to NEA.

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Top image via NEA on Facebook