Towkay Of Mr & Mrs Mohgan's Prata Shop Wants To Expand Biz, Not Retire

Somasundram Mohgan, 52, has been making prata since he was a 12-year-old lad, helping his mother, who was a hired cook at a now-defunct prata stall in the Alexandra area. “By the time I was 15, I could cook fish curry and dhal, and by 16, I was making prata at the stall,” recalls Somasundram. A few decades after whipping up prata, he thought to himself: why can’t prata be crispier, like you tiao? So, while working as a cook at a prata stall at Haig Road Food Centre as a 32-year-old, he started experimenting with his own recipes and techniques. His efforts paid off when the food centre closed for renovation and he was left jobless. He found a vacant stall space at a Crane Road coffee shop called Poh Ho Restaurant. He finally became his own boss when he set up Mr Mohgan’s Super Crispy Roti Prata there in 2006. Last month, he relocated his stall to a comfier venue at Tin Yeang kopitiam nearby in Joo Chiat, beside Dunman Food Centre (it’s a seven-minute walk away). But more on that later.