Hawker turns to machine to make Hokkien mee after failing to hire cooks
After receiving multiple news of the death of Hokkien mee and char kway teow hawkers and stalls closing down, Mr Ang Chip Hong decided to set up his own stall in hopes of preserving the dying trade.
In Nov 2024, the 53-year-old set up Wok AI at Margaret Drive Hawker Centre.
But for someone who spent over 20 years in A*Star and and was a land IoT (internet of things) director at SMU, what would he know about Hokkien mee?
In the beginning, Mr Ang encountered difficulties in hiring staff, describing it as almost impossible despite offering wages higher than average.
“I was offering as much as $4,000 to $4,500," he told The New Paper. "Meanwhile, a chicken rice stall would have a line of applicants when the pay was $3,500.”
Help unexpectedly came to Mr Ang in the form of a machine.
His friend from Wuhan in China had a fried rice machine, which Mr Ang used to cook Hokkien mee and char kway teow.
“But it cannot replicate the wok hei, which is a very robust component of Hokkien mee," Mr Ang revealed.
"My 1.0 version of the dishes was nice but very flat.”
He spent a entire month trying to perfect the recipe and launched his stall in November 2024. His search for the perfect taste continued as he gathered feedback from customers.
When TNP visited Wok AI on Jan 13, Mr Ang was testing three different plates of Hokkien mee, his version 8.0 that took three months to develop.
Alongside Mr Ang was Mr Lim Ye Sen, co-founder of Faesol, a local food technology and manufacturing company.
Faesol produces smoking salt, which replicates the smokiness in food and was described as the missing piece to Mr Ang’s “flat” Hokkien mee.
With this major milestone, Mr Ang is looking to open more stalls this year.
A second stall at Timbre+ One North will open in February, offering both Hokkien mee and char kway teow.
Mr Ang will open a third stall at NUS in April, its menu to include cai tao kway, and a fourth stall in the west in May.
Also in the pipeline is Halal Wok, which will focus on Malay food.
“I wouldn’t say I have the best Hokkien mee but I will keep improving it and I will try my best until I am fully satisfied,” said Mr Ang.
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