Michelin hawker could pocket S$2 mil in expansion plans

SINGAPORE — Barely two months after winning a Michelin-star award, the chef behind the Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles stall is in talks with five companies over a possible partnership that could allow him to pocket S$2 million.

Mr Chan Hon Meng, whose Chinatown Food Complex hawker stall won the award at the launch of the inaugural Michelin Guide Singapore, confirmed the news on Monday (Sept 19) and said that he is “not selling off his recipe alone”, but seeking expansion and collaboration opportunities with the global food and beverage companies.

On Monday, Shin Min Daily News reported that Mr Chan had wanted to sell his recipe for S$2 million, and stated that he was in talks with a global food and beverage company. 

The 51-year-old declined to name the companies, citing ongoing negotiations, but he told TODAY that two are foreign companies, while the rest are from Singapore.

He is setting out three conditions for the collaboration deal where he will still maintain some say over the business: that the partner be able to export the brand overseas; that he be guaranteed a sum of money as payout; and that the expanded business will have shops selling the same things with no deviation.

His asking price for the payout is now set at S$2 million, but he added that it is “negotiable, so long as the other two criteria are met” by the collaborators.

Mr Chan said that the figure was similar to that of the sale of Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint, a food shop in Upper Paya Lebar selling roast duck and barbecued pork.

In 2014, Kay Lee was sold for S$4 million to conglomerate Aztech Group, two-and-a-half years after it was put up for sale with an asking price of S$3.5 million. Its recipe alone was sold at S$2 million.

The potential expansion move by Mr Chan was fuelled in part by customer feedback about the long queues and longer waiting times at his stall, and his regular customers have been telling him constantly to expand the business.

At S$2 for a plate of soya sauce chicken rice, this is one of the cheapest Michelin-starred meals in the world.

Last month, TODAY reported that Mr Chan’s stall saw a dramatic shift in customer profile after the award win, with tourists making up 90 per cent of his customers compared to the pre-Michelin-starred days, where the ratio of tourists to resident diners was 50:50.

Waiting time averages two to three hours now, up from 45 to 60 minutes before the win, and this frustrates many of his regular customers.

TODAY also reported that Mr Chan had intentions to expand the business, but had no concrete plans then.

Potential investors have been approaching him after his win and now, he is “slowly beginning to understand” their pitches, Mr Chan said.

He hopes that this deal, if it works out, will help make his brand “a second KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)”.

Mr Chan is one of two Singaporean hawkers to clinch a Michelin star in July — the other is Mr Tang Chay Seng, 70, who owns Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles on Crawford Lane off North Bridge Road.