Chicken-rice burger? It’s on the menu at No Signboard’s first hawker-themed fast-food outlet at the Esplanade

SINGAPORE — No Signboard Holdings, best known for its signature white pepper crab dish, is having a crack at the fast food market — but with a uniquely Asian twist.

The company opened its first “Hawker” outlet, touted as Singapore’s first such fast-food chain, on Wednesday (Oct 31) evening at the Esplanade.

It will serve hawker-themed fast food, such as the Hainanese chicken rice burger, nasi lemak burger, roti prata wrap, chilli crab bun and Chendol softee.

Another outlet will open at the One@KentRidge mall at the end of November, while the third one will be located at mixed-use development Paya Lebar Quarter, which is set to open next year.

Mr Eric Er, vice-president of Hawker QSR (a subsidiary of No Signboard Holdings), told TODAY that there are plans to bring Hawker to China by the end of next year as well.

No Signboard previously announced earlier that it would expand No Signboard Seafood to Shanghai next year.

The company is also aiming to open six to eight Hawker outlets islandwide by the end of next year, and is currently applying for halal certification.

Customers can start ordering its offerings from food delivery services – namely Foodpanda, GrabFood and Honestbee – from next week.

While there is “no hurry” to introduce new items to the menu in the near future, Mr Er said customers could possibly be digging into a white pepper crab burger, roasted chicken rice burger, or even a briyani burger in the second half of next year.

“There are a lot of fast food chains in Singapore – A&W and Shake Shack are coming back next year too. But their menus are mostly similar, more towards Western-style fast food,” he added. “Ours is Asian-flavoured. I think it’s a spot-on flavour that customers will really enjoy.”

No Signboard traces its origins to the late 1970s, when its current executive chairman and chief executive officer Sam Lim’s grandmother began selling seafood at the Mattar Road hawker centre in Aljunied.

Distinguished only by a wooden plank painted in orange, it became known as the No Signboard stall.

Today, No Signboard Holdings operates four restaurants in Singapore, including one at the Esplanade, a stone’s throw from the new Hawker outlet.

Earlier this month, it also signed an exclusive agreement to bring South Korean chicken and burger chain Mom’s Touch to Singapore and Malaysia. Mr Er said that the first outlet will open in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in the first half of next year.