$1 For A Fishball? This 3rd-Gen Hawker Says It’s Fairly Priced

A family business that started from a humble pushcart

The family’s fishball story began with Delonix’s grandfather, Tan Kok Heng, who sold handmade fishballs and yong tau foo from a pushcart back in the days before hawker centres even existed. When Toa Payoh’s Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre was built, he moved his business there under the name Heng Kee Fishball & Yong Tau Fu. 

Delonix’s father, Tan Yew Seng, 65, eventually took over. Today, the original Toa Payoh stall is still running and still hand-making fishballs every morning. Over there, the raw fishballs are sold at $0.50 a piece. 

“We are three generations of fishball makers and we’ve been making fishballs and yong tau foo since the 1960s,” Delonix says. “We make the fishballs fresh in the wet market stall and transport them over [to Serangoon].”

“Our fishballs are bigger — and 100% yellowtail fish”

With many yong tau foo stalls charging less per fishball, why the $1 price tag? Delonix says it’s not a straightforward comparison. 

“I know $1 may be expensive but the price of our fishballs aren’t actually that expensive because coffee shops or hawker stalls are already selling their fishballs for $0.80 or $0.90 and theirs is smaller in size while ours is actually bigger,” he explains. “Ours is really quite big, almost twice the size of a regular fishball.”

No fillers or chemicals

But size isn’t the only difference. “We use 100% yellowtail fish,” Delonix elaborates. “We don’t add any fillers, chemicals or flour, and we make them ourselves.”

He adds: “In Singapore, not more than ten stalls will dare say that they use 100% yellowtail fish. That’s something that I’m very proud of because the cost is very high but we still stick to it. It’s something we want to preserve for Singaporeans to experience.”

“90% of the fishballs from yong tau foo stalls use factory-made paste”

Why do customers still willingly pay for SanDai’s pricier fishballs? Delonix believes it’s because handmade versions are now rare. 

“I feel that nowadays, 90% of the fishballs from yong tau foo stalls use factory-made paste, which is basically a cheaper paste with a lot of additives. I think it’s rare to come across fresh yong tau foo like ours that we make from scratch,” he says. “Most shops use something called surimi, which has high flour content and chemicals but ours is 100% fish.”

Many customers return after trying it once

And once they try it, many come back. “After customers try it, they’ll always come back because our products are different in terms of the taste and texture,” he says. 

Are there people who complain about the price? “There will definitely always be some people who say it’s expensive, but honestly, very few,” he shares. “Some see the price and just walk away. But those who try it once and really know the product, they have no complaints.”

He believes nostalgia plays a part too: “In the past, there were a lot of freshly made yong tau foo, so a lot of aunties and uncles know the original taste of how authentic yong tau foo [should taste] like,” he shares. “I feel ours gives them that sense of nostalgia so they keep coming back as it’s hard to find this kind of taste out there right now.”

“We have quite a lot of regular customers who buy our raw yong tau foo [as well]. Some people bring them home [to add to their] steamboat,” Delonix smiles. 

Fair pricing for a shopping mall concept 

SanDai Yong Tau Foo keeps things traditional with a pick-and-choose format. Their minimum set goes for $6 — five yong tau foo pieces and noodles, or six pieces without noodles. Premium ingredients like wu xiang, fried meat ball, and fried wonton cost $1.20 to $1.50. 

Diners can choose between the original soup, boiled with ikan bilis and soy beans with no MSG, or a curry version for an extra $1.50. 

“I think $6 is a very affordable price for a shopping mall concept. Food court stalls charge easily $7 or $8 so I feel $6 is already a very fair price considering the ingredients we use and the effort we put in,” Delonix tells 8days.sg.  

Former “ah beng” turned hawker 

These days, the heavily tattooed Delonix spends his time running the business and documenting his journey online — a very different life from before. “Last time, I couldn’t study well and I was very hot-headed. I mixed with the wrong group of friends and started doing stupid things. The wake-up call was when I got expelled from ITE,” Delonix recalls. “ It was basically because of a fighting case, it was pretty stupid when I think back about it.”

“I am a changed man already, not ah beng anymore,” he laughs. “I am well-behaved now, no more ah beng or YP (young punk).”

He credits his family heavily: “I’m very grateful that my parents are very supportive. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to run this [Serangoon eatery] because they help a lot with the production of the fish paste and the niang dou fu.”

“Being a hawker can lead to a very fulfilling life” 

Is traditional handmade yong tau foo at the risk of disappearing? “Yes, definitely,” Delonix says. “To be honest, people in F&B now use Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), which basically means they don’t make their own things, they just buy them from factories.” 

He elaborates: “The taste ends up very different [from handmade versions]. For example, when I eat outside food, not only fishballs but also things like chicken rice, it tastes very uniform because it’s mostly from the big players.”

While he understands why businesses rely on OEM, he believes it comes at a cost. “Manpower is expensive and rent is high now so they want to make things efficient, but it’s at the expense of our heritage. I think it’s very sad because hawker food is a big part of our culture,” he shares.