Lao Liang Pork Trotter Jelly & Shark Meat, one of Singapore’s last remaining hawker stalls serving the traditional Teochew dish, will close after 45 years in business.
The stall at Berseh Food Centre, run by elderly couple Yu Zhongrong (transliterated) and Lin Cailuan (transliterated), will cease operations on Oct 31, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
The stall owners, both 75, told the Chinese daily that they have decided to retire and have no intention of handing over the reins to their children.
When asked whether they felt it’s a pity to shutter the business, Yu said: “Not really. You wouldn’t know the hardships we’ve endured.”
For decades, the couple have been starting work at 3am to prepare ingredients and cook the dishes before opening for business at 10am.
“It’s exhausting. Sometimes customers are already lining up to order before the broth is even ready.
“But if the cooking time is insufficient and the flavour isn’t quite right, we can’t sell the food,” Lin told Zaobao.
Making pork trotter jelly is a labour-intensive and time-consuming process, she explained, saying it is something that few people are willing to take on today due to the high costs and slim profit margins.
Prepared using traditional methods, the dish requires pork trotters to be simmered for seven to eight hours and constantly stirred before the mixture is refrigerated for half a day to set.
“The preparation process for braised dishes also require a lot of time and effort — simply cleaning the ingredients take several hours,” she added.
However, the couple have a deep attachment to their long-time customers and they are concerned that people may be disappointed that they can no longer enjoy the familiar taste.
The elderly make up most of their regular customers, many of whom have been eating the traditional dish since childhood.
A serving of their signature pork trotter jelly starts from $5 while a Teochew-style kway chap set goes for a pocket-friendly $4.
Family business
In the 1960s, 10-year-old Yu began helping his father and grandfather sell pork trotter jelly and shark meat at their roadside stall located along Theatre Street near the former Thong Chai Medical Institution.
Yu’s grandfather, who used to run a Teochew restaurant in China, had brought the traditional pork trotter jelly dish with him when he migrated to Singapore.
The stall moved to Hill Street Food Centre in 1987, where Yu and his wife took over the reins, selling pork trotter jelly, shark meat and Teochew-style braised dishes.
They relocated the business to Berseh Food Centre in 1998.
Address: 166 Jalan Besar #02-37 Berseh Food Centre Singapore 208877
Opening hours: Wed-Sun, 10am to 2pm (Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
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esther.lam@asiaone.com
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