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Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee, aka Famous Beo Crescent Hokkien Sotong Mee, is closing down on July 30, 2022.

The business has been operating since 1986, started by husband-and-wife team Lim Bo Si, 71, and Huang Bao Dong, 70, according to 8 Days.

The stall was first set up in a coffee shop in Beo Crescent.

It then moved to Block 127 Bukit Merah Lane 1 in 2016.

A sign in Chinese put up on the wall of the coffee shop, read:

Dear customers, our store will cease business on July 30, 2022. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Thank you.

Can't sell business as buyers unqualified

Lim told 8 Days he is retiring.

This was after he could not find a prospective buyer for his recipe and business.

He said among those he interviewed who wanted to buy the business, "one couldn’t even fry an egg", while another was "scared to pick up a prawn".

Time to retire

The couple, who have four children, added that none of their offspring wanted to take over the business as they have their own careers.

Moreover, recent price increases for raw ingredients signalled to Lim it is time to call it quits as he has resolutely refused to raise his own prices to cater to his old-timer customers.

He said: “Cooking oil went up by 100 per cent, gas by 25 per cent."

The Hokkien mee, which comes with prawns, squid, and pork belly, ranges from S$4 to S$6 per portion.

When it first started, the Hokkien mee won fans as it was cooked over a charcoal stove.

Lim said he wants to remain active and might become a food stall assistant when he closes this business down.

Was going to retire in 2016

Lim and Huang had planned to retire back in 2016, after the duo each needed to go for surgery.

But they were persuaded to reopen by Bukit Merah Lane 1 coffee shop landlord, and switched the charcoal stove for a gas one.

The vacated stall at their former Beo Crescent shop space was taken over by the coffee shop owner, who then used a similar name, Yang Zhou Hokkien Sotong Prawn Mee.

Lim said he has nothing to do with that stall but did not have any hard feelings about it.

All photos via Google Maps