Viral Grumpy Nasi Ayam Goreng Seller Now Hiring Staff To Work At His Cafe

After going viral earlier this month, Lucky Plaza’s ‘rudest’ nasi ayam goreng seller saw long lines for his tasty fried chicken rice with a side of 'tude. While it was proof that Singaporeans cannot resist good food even under extreme circumstances, the queues at Fiie’s Cafe also highlighted another pertinent local issue: the manpower crunch in the F&B industry.

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg. Photo: Yip Jieying

There is a reason why he’s so rude

In our profile of Fiie’s Cafe’s owner Shafiie, the second-gen boss went into detail about why he was so grumpy that he called himself Mister Grumpy. 

Photo: Instagram/ @mistergrumpyfriedchicken

“My food is only $6. Some of them want me to serve them their food and hand them their change with a smile when we are so packed at lunchtime. There’s just the two of us, and it’s so hard to find manpower,” said Shafiie, who now runs the cafe with his younger brother Rasheed.

Photo: Instagram/ @mistergrumpyfriedchicken

Now hiring

Given his cafe’s popularity and long working hours — Shafiie typically works 14 to 15 hours a day prepping, cooking and washing up — it is unsurprising that he needs help.

A hiring notice posted recently on the cafe’s Instagram page called for applicants for full-time and part-time positions to “assist Mister Grumpy in the kitchen”. The working hours are from Mondays to Saturdays, 8am to 6pm. Part-timers are paid $10 per hour, with flexible working hours, while full-timers get a “salary range from $2.6k to $3k”.

And in case you are wondering about the job requirements, the caption adds: "No experience needed if willing to learn... No smiling needed as well." Pretty on brand, we say. Photo: Yip Jieying

There were applicants 

We asked Shafiie if there were applicants, given how his working style had been compared to Seinfeld’s mercurial ‘Soup Nazi’ chef character. “There were a few, but none showed up for work,” he lamented (several F&B owners confirmed with 8days.sg that this is a common scenario with hired staff in the industry).

As for whether it will be nerve-wracking working for someone who is known as Mister Grumpy, Shafiie laughed: “It depends on [the job applicants] really.”

Fiie’s Cafe is at #06-52 Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Rd, S238863. Tel: 9323-5305. Open daily except Sun, 11am-5pm. GrabFood and Foodpanda delivery available. Facebook, Instagram

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.