Andre Ong is no ordinary 26-year-old hawker. At just 21, he opened You Fu Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle at Golden Mile Food Centre, following years of experience helping his father, a hired cook at Changi Village Fried Hokkien Mee in Toa Payoh. Andre quickly gained a loyal following, selling an impressive 400 plates daily and clinching the Young Hawker Award at the World Gourmet Hawker Series in 2022.
Andre’s ambitions are as bold as his wok hei-laden noodles. He rattles off his goals in a brash manner: earning Michelin stars, landing a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and, as he boldly proclaims, “to own 50% of F&B biz in Singapore” by the time he’s 40.
For him, fried Hokkien mee is just the beginning. “I’ve built that legacy already, it’s time to take on something new,” he tells 8days.sg. After opening a second You Fu outlet in a Woodlands coffeeshop and handing over the Golden Mile stall to his brother in 2022, Andre is now diving into other local dishes, starting with Ho Jiak! Ban Mian, a new concept next to his Woodlands stall.
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Started frying Hokkien mee at age 14
Andre began helping out at his father’s stall when he was 14. “My dad was tough, but I’m thankful for his tough love. It shaped who I am today,” he reflects. Along the way, he gained experience working at other hawker stalls and Western cafes like Providore.
In 2020, Andre opened You Fu Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle at Golden Mile Food Centre, bringing his father and older brother onboard to help run the stall, named after the siblings’ Chinese names, Liang You and Chang Fu (Andre). It was a full-family operation until Andre opened a second outlet in Woodlands in 2022, handing over the Golden Mile stall to his brother. “I wanted to give them a chance to thrive while I tested myself in a new area,” he explains.
Today, the family runs separate businesses: Andre focuses on his Woodlands outlet, his father operates a You Fu stall at Chinatown Complex Food Centre and his brother has rebranded the Golden Mile outlet as Shiok Hokkien Mee.
Why start selling ban mian?
Located next to You Fu’s Woodlands stall, Andre invested $10K to set up Ho Jiak! Ban Mian. This strategic expansion also helps justify the steep $10K monthly rent for the spacious unit. Initially, Andre divided the stall into two sections: one side sold fried Hokkien mee, while the other offered claypot dishes like Kung Pao Chicken and Sesame Oil Chicken. However, both concepts shared the You Fu branding, and customers largely stuck to ordering noodles.
“When everything was under one brand, most people only wanted Hokkien mee,” Andre explains. “Now, with separate branding, customers order from both sides, which boosts profits.”
After experimenting with char kway teow and pao fan, Andre settled on ban mian as the flagship dish for Ho Jiak!. “My initial plan was to sell bak chor mee, but ban mian is simpler to start with. It’s easier to teach my employees how to cook it,” he says, adding that he developed the recipe based with his own research.
The response has been encouraging, with Ho Jiak! Ban Mian serving 200 bowls daily, while the You Fu stall sells about 300 plates of fried Hokkien mee. “I enjoy testing my skills and pushing myself into unknown territory. It’s about constantly learning and evolving,” he says.
“Family is what defines my success”
While Andre dreams of dominating the F&B scene and earning Michelin stars, his ambitions are rooted in gratitude for his wife, Hazel, 26, who has been managing You Fu alongside him since 2020. “My wife is my rock. We’ve been through so much chaos, she pushes me to grow,” he shares. The childhood sweethearts married in 2022 and recently welcomed a baby daughter.
During our interview, Hazel stopped by with their baby, offering a glimpse into Andre’s softer side. The hawker cradled his daughter tenderly, a contrast to his usual tough persona. “Cooking is what pushes me to find the best version of myself, but family is what defines my success,” Andre shares. “I consider myself successful because I have a family now. My daughter has made me more patient, more vulnerable – it’s a different perspective on life,” he adds with a smile, confessing that fatherhood has mellowed him from his more rebellious younger days.
No investors involved in his multiple stalls
Andre’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. “When we started expanding, I didn’t plan properly – costing, spending, everything was just ‘anyhow whack’. It was chaotic, especially when my wife was pregnant, and money was tight,” he admits.
Those struggles, however, taught him valuable lessons in discipline. “Now, we reinvest profits and take things one step at a time. It’s all about planning before executing,” he says, though he declines to disclose specific figures on profits.
Six months ago, Andre launched Fu Zai Enterprise, a Kovan coffeeshop stall serving fried Hokkien mee and claypot dishes similar to his Woodlands outlet. However, he reveals plans to phase out the noodle dish at Kovan, citing the difficulty of maintaining consistent quality when he’s based in Woodlands. Looking ahead, Andre hints at expanding his claypot and ban mian concepts with more outlets this year and is also developing a new “rice bowl” concept to diversify his offerings. With no outside investors, Andre funds all his ventures through earnings from his existing outlets.
Despite his ambitious plans for growth, Andre remains grounded: “I’ll always keep the You Fu name because I don’t want to forget why I started this business.”
The menu
A basic bowl of noodles with minced pork is available in Dry ($5.50) or Soup ($5) versions, with a choice of supplier-sourced ban mian, you mian, or mee hoon kueh as the base. Following our visit, the stall has also introduced fishball and meatball toppings for the basic ban mian at the same prices. For those who want a spicy twist, there’s also a tom yum option starting at $6.
Upgraded bowls with chicken cutlet or house-made fried fish are priced from $7.50. For sides, there’s popcorn chicken, seaweed chicken, tater tots and chilli mani chye, all priced at $4.
Ho Jiak Ban Mian (Soup), $5 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Made from a slow-simmered blend of pork bones, ikan bilis, and vegetables, the home-style broth is more robust and flavourful than your average ban mian soup. The noodles are cooked al dente, providing a pleasant bite, while the well-seasoned chunks of minced pork add a hearty element. Fragrant fried shallots bring an additional layer of aroma and crunch. The inclusion of mani cai (sayur manis) brings freshness and rustic, old-school appeal to the tasty bowl.
WTFish Ban Mian (Dry), $8 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Coated in a crispy, smooth batter that gives way to moist, tender fish inside, the fried dory pieces are a highlight of this dry ban mian.
The noodles are served with generous lashings of dark soy sauce and house-made chilli paste, which is packed with fragrant hae bee for a punchy, aromatic heat. When mixed, the noodles, sauce, and chilli create a sticky, savoury blend that’s deeply satisfying.
Sour Spice Siao Ban Mian (Dry), $6.50
Dressed with a supplier-sourced tom yum paste with strong lemongrass notes, this dish leans more on the zesty, citrusy heat of the Thai spice blend and doesn’t quite hit the same savoury depth of the richer, umami-packed regular dry ban mian. That said, the tangy, spicy notes will certainly appeal to those who enjoy tom yum flavours.
Bottom line
Overall, Ho Jiak! Ban Mian offers a satisfying experience at reasonable prices. The dry ban mian takes the top spot, with its rich dark soy sauce, chilli paste and crispy fried fish creating a deliciously spicy-savoury dish that hits all the right notes. For those in the mood for something soul-warming, the broth option delivers a comforting, flavorful base with tender minced pork. We also couldn’t resist dabao-ing the Hokkien mee, and it didn’t disappoint. The noodles are richly flavoured, having soaked up the robust prawn stock, while their charred edges lend an excellent smoky aroma to the dish.
Ho Jiak! Ban Mian is at 780 Woodlands Cres, S730780. Open daily 8.30am – 8.30pm. More info via Facebook & Instagram.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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