It is a great honour for me to meet up with Lim Hai Chay 林海星, a legend in Singapore bak kut teh history. We last met nearly a decade ago when he was still running his 22, Sin Ming Road stall - retired now, this morning we reminisced about bak kut teh over uncle Lim's favourite tea. Uncle Lim's wife, Mdm Chua was with us.
.jpeg) |
| A village in Jieyang. Courtesy of Wikipedia |
Lim worked initially as an artisan in a woodcraft workshop. A quick learner, Lim soon became a skilled craftsman. But, uncle Lim felt that woodcraft was a sunset vocation and decided to switch to the food & beverage industry.
Lim said he chose bak kut teh because he felt it was relatively manageable, especially for newbies to the F & B trade. Furthermore, uncle Lim is an avid tea lover, and as bak kut teh and drinking tea always go hand in hand, he decided to go into the BKT business.
Lim is a methodical, self taught man. To prepare for his bak kut teh business, Lim tried lots of bak kut teh from Singapore, to Johor, Klang, to Penang.
Lim even became close friends with Bak Cheng, the bak kut teh legend of Johor. Bak Cheng is the man, the most famous bak kut teh master in Johor. Bak Cheng used 24 herbs and spices in his secret recipe. Renowned Hong Kong food critic Chua Lam even crowned Bak Cheng, the best bak kut teh in Malaysia in 2006 in a national contest.
Armed with bak kut teh expertise gleaned from Singapore and the whole of peninsula Malaysia, Lim opened his bak kut teh restaurant at Jalan Leban in Sembawang. But, it didn't do well.
Soon, uncle Lim had to scale down to a food stall. In 1976, he moved to the corner coffeeshop at Blk 22, Sin Ming Road. That was then, literally in the boondocks. It was near Singapore's largest Chinese cemetery at that time and in the middle of a Hainanese enclave. The Hainanese wouldn't touch Teochew bak kut teh, so uncle Lim couldn't even rely on his neighbours for business.
Lim was at wits end. What happened next revolutionised Singapore bak kut teh - it was partly luck but mostly uncle Lim's resilience and ingenuity.
Business was so bad that uncle Lim was facing difficulty paying his suppliers. In desperation, Lim resorted to drastic cost cutting. He cut out spices and soy sauce from his Teochew bak kut teh, leaving only white pepper, garlic and he tuned his soup taste with just table salt and cooking technique. Such was his skill that uncle Lim's clear pepper, salt, and garlic concoction sans spices and soy sauce worked.
Uncle Lim's clear "white" bak kut teh was a stripped down version of Teochew bak kut teh of the time which was peppery but also had a touch of spice and soy sauce, examplified by Ng Ah Sio's rendition of bak kut teh.
Furthermore, uncle Lim switched from prime rib to loin rib which at that time was not considered a premium cut. At that time, prime rib cost $2 per kati (600 grams) while loin rib only $1.50.
Uncle Lim cut the cost of production of his bak kut teh but did not cut his selling price - this increased his profit margin. It was do or die.
Lim's audacious gambit not only worked well, he was so successful that other bak kut teh sellers started to emulate his pepper, salt and garlic concoction as well as switched to loin ribs. Today, loin rib is considered a premium cut, the premier choice for Singapore bak kut teh. It was given the fanciful moniker, "dragon rib".
At the same time, fortuitously Singapore Registry of Vehicles opened their new headquarters at Sin Ming Road in 1976 near to Rong Cheng bak kut teh stall. Going to the car workshops, vehicle inspection centres, pay road taxes, etc at Sin Ming Road became an annual ritual for vehicle owners. This brought uncle Lim lots of new customers from far and wide. They enjoyed uncle Lim's "dragon rib" peppery clear soup bak kut teh and Rong Cheng's fame quickly spread across the island.
Uncle Lim and Pek Sin Choon Tea Merchants are partners since the founding of Rong Cheng bak kut teh. Uncle Lim and wife still affectionately call Kenry Peh, the fourth generation of Pek Sin Choon "Ah Tee" or "little brother" as they knew each other since Kenry's teens.
Pek Sin Choon's famous Unknown Fragrance tea was the most popular tea to pair with uncle Lim's iconic pepper, garlic, salt and loin rib bak kut teh.
Uncle Lim and wife auntie Chua happily retired in 2016 and now spend their time traveling and doting over their grandchildren. The brand Rong Cheng is now managed by Select Group of companies. There are now several Rong Cheng Rou Gu Cha stalls with more to come throughout the island.
Tidbit: Famous Joo Siah Bak Koot Teh in Jurong East is founded by uncle Lim's brother-in-law, auntie Chua's brother.
Written by Tony Boey on 3 May 2023
🎗 Opinions in this blog are all my own as no restaurant or stall paid money to be featured
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments submitted with genuine identities are published