Former owner of Heng Ji Chicken Rice hawker stall dies at 81

Second-generation former owner of the famed Heng Ji Chicken Rice hawker stall, Mr Chan Yeow Seng, died on Aug 7. He was 81.

His death comes about a year after his wife, Madam Lim En Ai, died at age 80 on Aug 21, 2023. She helped him run the stall for over 40 years before they handed it over to its current owners in 2022.

The chicken rice stall, on the second storey of Chinatown Complex, has a history which spans 60 years.

Hawker Melvin Chew posted about Mr Chan’s death on the Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 Facebook page on Aug 8.

Chinatown Complex Hawkers’ Association chairman Cornelius Tan was saddened when he received news of Mr Chan’s death via a WhatsApp group chat with other association members on Aug 8.

An obituary posted on the group chat said the wake was held at Singapore Casket from Aug 7 to 9. 

Mr Tan, 38, said he has patronised Heng Ji Chicken Rice since 2015, when he started working with his parents at their stall in the same hawker centre.

He remembers both Mr Chan and Madam Lim as friendly and down to earth even though their stall was one of the most popular in the hawker centre. It often drew long queues for both lunch and dinner.

Mr Tan recalled: “Their chicken rice was memorable. The rice was fragrant, oily and flavoursome, while the chicken was perfectly poached.”

According to a report by Shin Min Daily News on Aug 30, 2023, Mr Chan and Madam Lim met in 1962. Madam Lim helped her husband at the chicken rice stall from 1981.

The stall was started by Mr Chan’s father, who used to operate it in Smith Street. Mr Chan, who took over the stall, moved it to Chinatown Complex in 1983, said Mr Lee Hon Sang, 74, who worked as Mr Chan’s stall assistant for decades and is now employed by the stall’s current owners. 

Mr Lee, who attended Mr Chan’s wake, said in Mandarin: “Mr Chan and his wife were very generous bosses and treated me well.”

The stall closed temporarily in 2020 during the pandemic and reopened in April 2021. 

When the couple retired, they introduced him to the new stall owners who continued to employ him.

The stall is co-owned and run by Ms Jersey Ng, 32, and Ms Ng Li Peng, 28, who are not related to Mr Chan and Madam Lim. 

The cousins, who are originally from Johor and are Singapore permanent residents, took over the stall in 2022. 

A nephew of Madam Lim had introduced Ms Jersey Ng to the couple.

Ms Jersey Ng, who first ate at Heng Ji Chicken Rice five years ago and was impressed, said in Mandarin: “I felt it was a very old-school style of chicken rice and suited my taste.”

When the opportunity came up for her to take over Heng Ji Chicken Rice, she seized it.

“It was a rare chance to learn from a chicken rice master. I wanted to preserve the traditional style of cooking the dish and the name of the stall,” she said.

She took a year to learn the ropes from Mr Chan and his wife. He taught Ms Ng how to poach the chicken and cook the rice, while Madam Lim imparted her chopping and customer service skills. 

Ms Ng recalled: “Mr Chan was quiet and did not talk much, but he was willing to share his knowledge and did not hold back when teaching me how to cook chicken rice and sharing his recipes. Madam Lim advised me to be generous in portions and to be patient with elderly customers. Both of them were very kind-hearted.”

Even after the business was handed over to Ms Ng, Mr Chan and his wife would drop by weekly, then monthly, to observe how she ran the stall and point out areas where she could improve.

In the past year, following the death of his wife, Mr Chan continued to drop by the stall on his own, about once every two months. 

Ms Ng has no immediate plans to open more outlets.

She said: ”It is not easy to keep up with the standard set by Mr Chan and Madam Lim.”