Former HDB Flat-Based Business Sixth Floor Oyster Cake Opens 2nd Outlet In Yishun

When we spoke to Khung Wai Yeen (right in pic) last October, he had just upgraded his bustling home-based business Sixth Floor Oyster Cake from the kitchen of his sixth-floor HDB flat to a kiosk in Northshore Plaza I in Punggol. There, the 41-year-old faced an eager throng of customers itching to get their hands on his deep-fried oyster cakes — savoury fritters packed with minced meat, chives and oysters.

While the traditional snack’s circular shape lends itself to its nickname, UFO oyster cake, its origins are firmly terrestrial: oyster cakes were first found in Fuzhou, the capital of China’s Fujian Province. In Singapore, they’re typically sold at roving pasar malams and a small number of hawker stalls. This relative rarity contributed to Sixth Floor Oyster Cake’s successful debut last year, where Wai Yeen and his business partner (also his next-door neighbour) Calvin Lau, 51, enjoyed “almost two months of crazy queues” lasting up to “around ninety minutes long”.  

Now, they’ve expanded with a second takeaway-only outlet in Northpoint City shopping mall, Yishun, which opens on September 29.

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No more long queues at first outlet

Wai Yeen, who used to work as a sales manager in the maritime industry, tells 8days.sg that the snaking queues his Punggol kiosk enjoyed in its early days have now abated to a more manageable “group of regulars”. “We were really very busy those first few months, all the way to this February. But the crowd started dying down in April, once a lot of people stopped working from home. As we are located in a neighbourhood mall, that affected us quite a lot.” he says. “The worst month so far was June, probably ’cos it was the first school holiday where many people could travel (laughs).”

Still, business is good enough to keep them profitable – they managed to recoup their initial investment of $120K within “eight to nine months”, even with a growing crew of full-timers. Outlet number two cost the towkays a similar figure, which they hope will be offset by Northpoint City’s prime location as a “neighbourhood centre with a large crowd”. Wai Yeen will now shuttle between the two stalls (Calvin has become a silent partner). 

With operations in full swing, the initial four-piece oyster cake limit per person has been removed, and the fritters are now made to order unlike before, so you get them piping hot.

Price increase necessary amid inflation

Like most other F&B businesses, they’ve had to reckon with skyrocketing inflation amid global instability, leading to higher ingredient costs. “I blame Russia for starting the war and causing all the commodity prices to shoot up (laughs). When we started, oil was just $20 a tin – it shot up to $50 after the war, before hovering in the $40 region until now,” says Wai Yeen.

But the real trouble comes when it comes to hiring staff. “As first-time business owners, there was a huge learning curve, of course. But most of my sleepless nights come from hiring manpower. It is really, really tough,” he sighs. “We pay the industry average salary, but it’s about finding people that are even willing to do the job in the first place that’s so difficult.”

These rising costs meant Sixth Floor Oyster Cake had to adjust their prices in August. The Original oyster cake (above), our top pick for its resoundingly crunchy coat and generous stuffing of oysters, shrimp and chives, now costs $3.50, up from $3 during our earlier visit. The Kimchi version also costs $3.50. Prices are identical at both outlets. New snacks that are now on offer include Seaweed Chicken ($1.80), Chicken Wings ($2 each) and Spring Rolls ($2.80 for three pieces).

Two more shops in the pipeline

Despite the challenges, Wai Yeen has ambitious expansion plans. “If everything goes well with the Northpoint City branch, I’m hoping to open two new outlets in 2023. One of them will probably come together with a central kitchen, so that we can make our batter there and send it to our other outlets,” he says. Where exactly? “Other neighbourhood malls, but it’s too early to say now lah,” he shares. 

He’s “pretty happy” about his job switch to the volatile world of F&B, despite having to take a pay cut of around “30 percent” compared to his previous corporate job. “And I don’t see any pay increments in the near future, as we’re focusing on expansion and squirreling money away in case of unforeseen expenses,” he says. “But this is something that we’ve been looking forward to trying all along. Everything is still going according to plan, although maybe a little slower than we’d like (laughs). It’s very rewarding. We’re employers now, with employees to look after. We hope to do right by them,” he declares. 

The details

Sixth Floor Oyster Cake’s second outlet is at #B2-147, Northpoint City South Wing, 1 Northpoint Dr, S768019. Open daily 10am – 10pm.

The original outlet is at #02-41, Northshore Plaza I, 407 Northshore Dr, S820407. Tel: 8811-0241. Open daily 10am – 9pm. More info via website, Facebook & Instagram. Delivery via Grabfood.

Photos: Aik Chen, Sixth Floor Oyster Cake

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