April 22, 2022, 03:08 AM
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How would you react if you reached your favourite food stall only to find that it is closed, with a sign announcing its chef is away because he is heartbroken?
Photo by Sky Qiang.
Photo by Sky Qiang.
Because that was exactly what happened as a sign greeted hangry customers informing them that seafood stall Bro's BBQ in Jurong was not in operation for non-culinary reasons.
The photo of the makeshift sign in Chinese was shared to Facebook by Sky Qiang.
The sign read, when translated into English:
Our chef fell out of love... (He's) going to clear his head (and has) gone to seek solace from the sea. We will be taking a break for a week (April 7 to 13)... Don't worry, the chef won't jump into the sea.
The person who put up the photo on Facebook wrote in response to what is clearly a jokey message to customers: "Chef, be sure to come back to work."
Not exactly a love story that ended badly
Before you bring out the tissues, Sin Chew Daily reported that this was just a tongue-in-cheek way of announcing a temporary closure by the stall's owner, a 38-year-old man identified only by his surname Ye.
Photo by Jonathan Lim via Foursquare
Ye explained that he hoped to bring joy to his customers with this announcement, and that it was just an innovative way of informing them that the chef was temporarily transferred to another branch because of a manpower crunch.
Bro's BBQ has three outlets, located in Toa Payoh, Tampines and Jurong.
Photo by Jonathan Lim via Foursquare.
Photo by Jonathan Lim via Foursquare.
Staff returned to Malaysia in batches
Ye added that he has allowed his staff, many of whom are Malaysian and have not been able to return home for the past two years, to take leave in batches to visit their respective families after the border restrictions were relaxed.
This caused a temporary lack of staff, and he ultimately decided to transfer the chef from the Jurong branch to other outlets as a stopgap measure.
When contacted by Mothership, a man who identified himself as Ye's partner confirmed that the notice was "just a joke" and that "the chef is fine".
Top photos by Jonathan Lim via Foursquare & Sky Qiang.
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