After decades of whipping up Hokkien mee at Chomp Chomp Food Centre, the owner of Ah Hock Hokkien Noodles has died aged 79.
The news was shared on Facebook Group Hokkien Mee Hunting on Monday (July 20) by a longtime customer.
The diner said they had visited the stall earlier, but found it closed. The hawker operating a neighbouring stall told them that Ah Hock Hokkien Noodles’ owner had died.
“My heart sank,” the customer wrote.
Ng Hock Chuan, known for his old-school Hokkien mee, is said to be part of one of the families which pioneered the Singapore-style version of the dish.
The longtime customer described him as never being loud or showy, instead greeting customers with a quiet smile and doing his work with complete focus.
“Rest in peace, Uncle. Thank you for the countless plates of Hokkien mee, for the dedication you poured into every wok, and for leaving behind a legacy that so many of us will remember and miss,” they wrote.
They expressed their condolences to the deceased’s family during this difficult time and encouraged other customers to share their memories of the stall in tribute to the veteran hawker.
One netizen commented: “This Hokkien mee was unbeatable in its heyday. It was my go-to place for many years, especially when I was living in the area all through my teens and twenties. Until now I have not found one that matched its original taste.”
Another longtime customer wrote: “I loved Ah Hock’s fried hokkien mee! So sad that one of the best chef masters at fried hokkien mee has passed on. It was truly fortunate to have been able to enjoy his food for as long as I did. RIP uncle”.
Others said that they had not been able to taste the veteran hawker’s cooking as he had switched to manning the cash register in recent years.
In the Facebook post, the longtime customer expressed hopes that Ng’s sons, who have been working by his side at the stall for many years, will continue the craft.
“It would be a fitting tribute to a lifetime spent behind the wok.”
According his obituary in Lianhe Zaobao, Hock Chuan died on July 16 at the age of 79.
He is the fourth son of Ng Seng, one of two brothers who began frying what later became Singapore-style Hokkien mee in the 1950s.
In 1966, Hock Chuan ventured out on his own and started a Hokkien mee business in the Serangoon Gardens area.
By the 1970s, he began running his stall at Chomp Chomp Food Centre, which now serves up its take on the local dish from $4 onwards.
Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodles garnered a loyal customer base over the decades, and has been listed in the Michelin Guide Singapore since 2018.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
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