Hawker Chan was the first hawker in Singapore to be awarded a Michelin star back in 2016. His claim to fame — the world’s cheapest Michelin star meal. Now 58, Chan has lost his star but gained one heck of a fanbase and restaurants in 32 locations across Asia and more recently, Australia. All of this, courtesy a winning Soya Sauce Chicken that we got to taste over his recent visit to the Leela Palace Chennai. The two-day street food festival at Chennai was organised by the Singapore Tourism Board in association with the Soul Food Company.
We sit down with Chan who is all smiles and the sweetest celebrity chef you ever did meet. He speaks Mandarin and we speak English, fortunately an Angel appears to assist. No seriously, this is his translator’s name, Angel. She lives up to the name, so it makes sense that we find out later, she is also the CEO of his enterprise. Our first question, as we lick our fingers, sticky with a honey glaze from chunks of his famed Pork Char Siew is this: since the Michelin star seven years ago, have the prices gone up? Angel speedily translates. “Yes, they have,” he says. By one Singapore dollar.”
We lean forward and ask again, wondering if we misheard. But no!
Secret sauce
And the surprises continue. For instance, we find out that his menu which comprises of four dishes that sometimes go up to a bonus six, has not changed since he opened his very first hawker stand almost 15 years ago. Our menu for the night is a simple but hearty Fragrant Rice with his Signature Soya Sauce Chicken, Pork Char Siew and Bok Choy. We also try the delightful Apple Tofu chunks for vegetarians. “Hawkers make only their speciality dishes,” he explains. This is why the queues never seem to stop growing, we realise. His social media presence has grown as well but he admits sheepishly, “My fingers are too fat for my phone buttons so I get some help with this.”
A lot has changed
Travelling the world and now managing people as opposed to waking up at the crack of dawn to concoct that secret soya sauce is a transition that has come with a lot of lessons, he gets serious. This is a world apart from waking up at the crack of dawn to prep ingredients and spice blends for hungry customers waiting in line. But when we ask him how much has changed as he reflects on his culinary journey starting at age 15 to now 58, he shares that that the biggest change, the one that pleases him the most, “is seeing chefs become celebrities”. Does he like being famous? Suddenly, Hawker Chan becomes a little shy. “I am still getting used to it,” he responds.