Uncle Lim’s Diner in Redhill is helmed by young husband-and-wife team Jeremy Lim, 34, and Joyce Sih, 30, who serve comforting Western fare at a kopitiam in a quiet HDB estate. While the five-month-old stall appears to offer your garden-variety hawker faves like chicken chop and fish and chips, the newly-wed couple has some serious cooking pedigree.
Later, they worked together again at Tonito Latin American Restaurant in Jewel Changi Airport, where Jeremy became sous chef and Joyce continued as junior sous chef.
So how did their love story begin? According to the bubbly couple, their early days were filled with plenty of good-natured ribbing. “He asked me to call him every morning to wake him up because he’d be late for work,” Joyce says, laughing. “And I really did it. I called him every single day.”
Why she obliged remains a mystery, especially since, as she admits: “We were barely friends at that point.”
The pair eventually became inseparable, moving from colleagues to partners both in and out of the kitchen. “Even after finishing a full day in the kitchen, he’d go home and cook again,” Joyce says. “Sometimes pasta, sometimes chicken. He just loves cooking.”
When 8days.sg first reached out for an interview, they had to turn it down as they were in Johor Bahru, busy getting married in Joyce’s hometown. Joyce is a permanent resident while Jeremy is Singaporean.
Why they become hawkers
After more than a decade working in restaurant kitchens, Jeremy decided it was time to strike out on his own. “I’ve been in this line for about 11 years,” he says. “I just wanted to try being my own boss.”
He quit his job last December, and together with Joyce, started experimenting from home. “We began selling food on GrabFood,” he says. “Just to test whether people liked our food.” The response was encouraging enough for them to take the plunge.
Why sell localised Western grub and not the Latin American cuisine they have experience in? “We wanted to offer lower cost Western classics, which is why we avoided dabbling in Latin American cuisine [which tend to have pricier ingredients in Singapore],” explains Jeremy.
The quirky name ‘Uncle Lim’s Diner’ is a nod to both nostalgia and familiarity. “Everyone can remember it,” Joyce says with a grin. “In Malaysia and Singapore, when you say ‘Uncle Lim’, people immediately feel like they know you.”
Huge pay cut, “almost cried” having to do everything themselves
Leaving the restaurant world meant taking a massive pay cut. Jeremy was earning about $3,800 a month as sous chef, while Joyce drew around $3,000 as junior sous. At their stall, both now take home roughly $1,000 each after deducting costs. “It’s a pity that we aren’t earning as much because we were gunning to buy a house,” says Jeremy, who is currently living with his wife at his parents’ flat in Woodlands.
Joyce adds: “We used to have helpers at the restaurant. Now, I do everything — from washing, taking orders and clearing plates. The first few days, I almost cried.”
That being said, Jeremy remains optimistic. “We just started,” the millennial explains. “If we keep improving our food, people will come.”
Slow biz in sleepy neighbourhood
Business started strong, with the first two days seeing sales of about $700 a day. But things slowed down quickly after. “Now it’s around $200 to $300 a day, maybe 30 to 40 orders,” Jeremy shares.
They had expected the nearby secondary school crowd to make up a steady stream of customers. “We thought students would come after school,” Joyce says. “But perhaps they found it expensive. Some came once, said it was nice, but never came back.”
The surrounding rental flats also meant fewer office workers and more elderly residents, who usually preferred traditional hawker fare. “Sometimes the whole place is quiet,” Joyce says. “But the people here are nice. They tell their friends about us.”
No time for honeymoon yet
For now, Jeremy and Joyce have no plans to leave the business, not even for a honeymoon. Joyce laughs when she mentions her dream of visiting England and Dubai someday, but Jeremy avoids her gaze. “We focus on our ‘baby’ [this business] first,” he says quietly.
The menu
Starters include Nacho Chips ($6.50) with house-made guacamole, Fried Chicken Wing ($1.60 a piece) and Wild Mushroom Soup ($4.50). There are 11 mains on the menu, such as the Crispy Chicken Cutlet ($7.90 to $8.90) served with pilaf rice, fries, mashed potato or pasta (aglio olio or tomato-based).
Crispy Chicken Cutlet with Aglio Olio, $7.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)
There’s fried chicken, and then there’s fried chicken done properly. This is the latter. A slab of chicken thigh is marinated for a day before being covered in panko breadcrumbs and fried to order. It arrives gloriously golden and crisp, stretching generously across the plate, while its well-seasoned flesh within remains juicy.
The accompanying aglio olio leans spicy, with hints of black pepper and the occasional chilli flake. But what sets it apart is its texture, which is slightly creamier than usual. Jeremy makes a garlic confit with canola oil before blending it into the base, giving the noodles a silky richness that clings to each strand.
House-made Marie Rose sauce (British cocktail sauce) ties everything together. It has a light tang from ketchup and creaminess from the mayonnaise that cut through the richness of the chook. Yum.
Fish & Chips, $9.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Not your usual dory or snapper, but sea bass. It’s cloaked in a light, crusty tempura batter that’s thin and delicate, so the flavour of the fish comes through cleanly. Its flesh is tender and moist, breaking apart softly. Served with shoestring fries, slaw, a wedge of lemon, and house-made tartar aioli, though really, the fish doesn’t need much else.
Pan-Seared Salmon with Fries, $12.50
The tender salmon boasts crackling skin, though the portion is smaller than expected for the price. It’s served with a brown sauce made from onion, garlic, celery and chicken stock, which adds a light savoury depth. Not bad, but we prefer the fish and chips.
Chicken Chop with Mash Potatoes, $7.50
This chicken thigh fillet gets a turn on the griddle instead of the fryer. While we prefer its deep-fried cousin, its skin is perfumed with a nice smoky char and we love the accompanying mound of buttery, smooth and indulgent mashed potatoes.
Chicken Wings, $3.20 for two pcs (8 DAYS Pick!)
Jeremy says they use their own secret blend of seasoned flour for the coating of these wings, which give them a light, even crunch. Succulent, lightly seasoned, and really good.
Fries Grande, $6
A mound of shoestring fries topped with a small dollop of house-made guacamole, hearty drizzle of nacho cheese, and a dash of Cajun spice mix. The creamy, lime-spiked avocado dip brings brightness to the spuds. A nice snack while you wait for your mains.
Uncle Lim’s Diner is at Meet@55, 55 Lengkok Bahru, #01-387, S151055. Open daily 11.30am-8.30pm. More info via Uncle Lim’s Diner’s Instagram or Facebook.
Photos: Dillon Tan
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