Popular hawker stall Cheong Fan Paradise closes after suitable assistant not found despite S$3,000 salary

Several stall assistants had quit due to the tiring work and long hours.

Zi Shan Kow | May 06, 2022, 12:47 PM

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Popular Ang Mo Kio hawker stall Cheong Fan Paradise will be closing down on May 8.

Manpower issues

Kerene Cheng, 46, a former dim sum chef at Shangri-La’s Shang Palace restaurant, set up the store with a business partner just a year ago in April 2021.

Cheng's sister cited manpower issues for the closure in a Facebook post.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the business failed to find a stall assistant despite offering a S$3,000 salary.

Cheng explained that it was hard to hire a suitable stall assistant with experience due to meticulous nature of the role.

The two or three stall assistants the stall hired did not stay long as they were not used to the tiring work and long hours.

She starts work at 6:30am to prepare the freshly made rice rolls.

Her carrot cake, glutinous rice and rice roll sauce are also all hand made daily.

Work too tedious

Cheng was the restaurant's first female head chef in 40 years and has been working as a chef since she was 18.

While she has gotten used to working in the kitchen due to her many years as a chef, many first-timers found the hot environment and long hours on their feet too difficult to bear.

She said the hawker business is not easy, sharing with Shin Min that her partner quit three months after opening the stall due to the tedious work.

Her sister and friends have tried to help her, but they can only assist her in taking orders and manning the cashier as only she alone can do the cooking.

She would be taking the time to rest and work on improve her business model so that it would be easier to employ workers in the future.

Cheng also added that returning to work in a hotel or restaurant is also not out of the question for her.

Cheong Fan Paradise

Address: #01-87 Chop Hong Lik Restaurant, 5023 Ang Mo Kio Ind Park 2, Singapore 569526

Opening hours: 8am to 4pm

Last day on May 8, 2022.

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Top images by T W/Google Maps and Shin Min Daily News.