Fried kway teow stall in Jalan Besar closes down after owner, 69, passes away

The owner passed away peacefully after "serving his last plate of kway teow", according to his children.

Winnie Li | March 19, 2024, 01:11 PM

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Hock Kee Char Kway Teow, a hawker stall at Berseh Food Centre in Jalan Besar has closed down on Mar. 18, 2024.

This comes after its owner, Song Yancheng (transliteration from Mandarin), passed away on the same date.

Song was 69.

His passing was announced by his children on the hawker stall's Facebook page.

According to his children, Song passed away "peacefully" after "serving his last plate of kway teow" on Monday.

Song's family will be holding a five-day wake for him at Block 388A Bukit Batok West Avenue 5, starting today (Mar. 19).

Reviews from customers

Patrons who reviewed Song's stall on Google shared that Song would fry every plate of char kway teow individually.

Each plate was priced around S$4 to S$5, and the portion given was also described as "value for money".

Screenshot via Google

Screenshot via Google

One reviewer was so impressed that he called it "one of the best char kway teow in Singapore".

Screenshot via Google

A stall with a humble beginning

According to Melvin Chew, the founder of Facebook page Hawkers United Dabao 2020, Song was one of the char kway teow hawker pioneers in Singapore.

He started working in 1977 and has consistently relied on a recipe that includes garlic, blood cockles and crispy pork lard as key components of his dish.

An image uploaded to the Hock Kee Char Kway Teow's Facebook page shows the early days of the stall.

The stall subsequently moved to Syed Alwi Road in 2015 before settling in its current address at Berseh Food Centre in 2018.

Top images via Google Maps