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Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee has shuttered its Bukit Batok outlet just three months after opening.

The reason for its closing, however, is neither poor business nor rental woes, which are common issues plaguing F&B owners.

Commitment to taste

Instead, the hawker brand made an announcement on its Instagram page on June 1, 2022, apologising for not meeting the expectations of fans at their third stall.

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"Finding and training chefs committed to frying the Hokkien Mee of our standard hasn’t been easy 😔," the post read.

It added: "It is with a heavy heart but heavier sense of commitment to the taste of our mee that we will officially [retire] this outlet and refocus all of our attention to our ION and Old Airport outlets."

Since the announcement, a couple of customers have commented with their own observations that the standard has indeed been inconsistent.

Family business since 1940s

The expansion to Bukit Batok was managed by 49-year-old Albert Ng, the third generation owner of Nam Sing.

Ng previously said that he wanted to keep his family’s legacy alive and growing, while "maintaining the same recipe, quality, and consistency."

Today, the stall still uses the same techniques developed by its first generation founders in the 1940s.

To ensure that the newer outlets would maintain the original standard, Ng and his father would check the ingredients, and have 90 per cent of the food preparation done at the respective stalls.

Top image via Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee