Flood of tourists keeps regulars away from Michelin-starred stalls

SINGAPORE — After Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles rocketed to fame as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal, tourists have been making a beeline for the eight-year-old stall. The long queues, however, have displaced some of its regular diners.

A month after the award, owner Chan Hon Meng told TODAY that he has noticed a striking change in his customers’ profile. 

Tourists make up 90 per cent of his customers now — a stark departure from the pre-Michelin days, where the ratio of tourists to local diners was 50:50. 

Part of the reason, the 52-year-old said, could be that these foreigners on vacation simply had more time to wait in queue for his S$2 plate of rice. 

Waiting time now averages between two and three hours, up from 45 minutes to an hour before the accolade. 

“A lot of my regular customers (who are older) … cannot stand for very long, and some of them have also (told me) they don’t have the time to queue for the food,” said Mr Chan in Mandarin. 

Mr Chan is one of two hawkers who clinched one Michelin star at the launch of the inaugural Michelin Guide Singapore  on July 21 this year. 

Over at the other Michelin-starred Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles, a similar trend could also be seen. 

Owner Tang Chay Seng, 70, told TODAY that while the overall number of customers has dipped slightly from the immediate post-Michelin days, tourist footfall has increased slightly. The ratio of local to foreign diners used to be evenly spilt, but tourists now make up around 60 per cent of his clientele. 

The overall dip, he added, has brought waiting times to the current one-and-a-half hours, down from the peak of two to three hours. This, however, is still a far cry from the pre-award waiting time of 45 minutes.  

The long queues have vexed some local diners. At Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles, despite increasing the daily number of chickens prepared from 150 to 180, Mr Chan said his food is still selling out faster than before.

This led to some customers “(getting) a bit frustrated at having to wait for so long but ending up not being able to buy because (the food is) sold out”. 

During a visit to the stall last week, TODAY witnessed a visibly upset couple storming off after the last plate got sold to a diner ahead of them.

Such disgruntled customers, some of whom had waited hours only to be told everything had been sold out, are gradually becoming a frequent occurrence, leading to increased calls for Mr Chan to expand his business. He said: “(My regulars) always ask me, why not open another stall? That way it will be easier on them because they won’t have to wait so long.” 

To that, the usually-chatty chef paused, and sighed: “I admit that, as in everything in life, it’s very hard to satisfy everyone.” 

He has, therefore, given some thought to expansion — moving from his current 10sqm stall to a shop space. But he has no firm plans yet. 

“A hawker stall is good … but given the numbers now, (I don’t know) if it’s the most ideal location,” said the Ipoh-born hawker with more than 30 years of culinary experience under his belt.  

Meanwhile, Mr Tang of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles told TODAY that there has been interest in the business, post-Michelin — he has been approached on three occasions by parties interested in a collaboration. 

But the second-generation hawker has yet to decide on the fate of the business. He simply said: “I have to think about it.  ”