SINGAPORE — Undaunted by the bold move of leaving his job as a graphic designer six years ago to help out at his parents’ stall in Tiong Bahru market, Mr Thomas Koh of Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup knew it could be the start of a wild ride.

“Being a hawker is harder than it looks. It is labour intensive and you need a lot of stamina for it,” said the 31-year-old, adding that his “daily workout” involves carrying about 10kg to 20kg of pig offal.

Mr Koh, now a proud third-generation hawker, works more than 12 hours a day, preparing the ingredients for the broth, washing the mix of pig organs including liver, heart, intestines and stomach separately and simmering them in different pots for eight hours.

Hearing stories of his grandfather's humble beginnings — starting the business by selling bowls of soup from a pushcart over six decades ago — made Mr Koh all the more determined to carry on the family legacy.

His grandfather Mr Koh Kee Teo, 82, a retiree, is resting in good health at home, after a lifetime of serving countless bowls of soup since founding the stall as a teenager in 1955.

Recognising that he must play an ever greater role, Mr Thomas Koh acknowledged that it is getting tougher on his ageing parents, Madam Jenny Lim, 57, and Mr Simon Koh, 58, who are still manning the stall with him.

In September, all the family’s hard work paid off when Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand, one of the most illustrious accolades in the culinary world.

The stall was among 58 food and beverage establishments on the 2019 Michelin Bib Gourmand list, which features eateries that offer quality cuisine for less than S$45 per person.

Elated by the news, Mr Koh told TODAY that he has his customers to thank, most of whom are older folks — indeed many bought soup from his grandfather. They find comfort in the traditional dish.

DYING HERITAGE AMONG YOUNGER GENERATION

In the age of fast food, café-hopping and rainbow-coloured food, few young people regard pig's organ soup as a delicacy.

Mr Koh feels that the younger generation’s aversion to pig’s offal might be an image problem — that it is seen as unhygienic and unhealthy — even though in days gone by it was a prized food item.

“Maybe it also depends on whether or not the person grew up eating it. I did, so for me it’s very comforting and I really love it,” he chuckled.

In a bid to increase his stall’s profile among the younger generation, he has started a website and a Facebook page for customers to learn about his family’s business, and keep updated on any changes to operating hours, for example.

Although his efforts have resulted in only a slight uptick in business so far, he remains optimistic that the word will spread, especially given the award. He was also pleased to be able to utilise his design background.

Mr Koh is so determined to maintain the quality and consistency of each batch of soup that he has devised a measuring system for his ingredients to ensure the proportion of ingredients is precisely right.

He admits that he does not yet have the ability to intuitively judge the amounts — but hopes that gift may come with time.

“When my grandfather did it back then, he ‘agak agak’ (Malay for estimate), but I was not experienced enough to do that,” he said candidly.

When he helped out at the stall in his school days, Mr Koh watched his grandfather strip fat off pig intestines — a popular offering among customers — one by one.

To increase efficiency, the family even started importing pig intestines from Germany and Denmark as it comes without the fat and is known to be safest for consumption due to its cleanliness.

Now, Mr Koh just cleans the pig intestines by hand at least three times before cooking.

GRUELLING JOB

On top of cleaning, cooking and dealing with customers, Mr Koh said the biggest challenge he faced was the gruelling working hours.

He toils at the stall at least six days a week. On his day off, he rests at home but even then his mind is on the job, as he watches cooking shows.

“I’m constantly thinking of ways we can improve,” he said, adding that even when he spends time with his family out of work, “every family dinner is a business dinner”.

Mr Koh knows the day is coming when his parents will retire from the stall.

Out of a sense of filial duty, Mr Koh feels it is only right that he manages the family business, knowing that he has six decades of family history to honour.

“I don’t want my grandfather’s sweat and tears all these years to go to waste. When my parents retire, I want them to have a peace of mind knowing that I can keep the legacy alive,” he said.