STI: Insides story

May 24, 2004

Insides story
by Teo Pau Lin

FIRST, it was Katong laksa. Then, it was Jalan Kayu roti prata.

Now, it's Blanco Court kway chap.

A rash of stalls has sprouted in recent years, claiming to be the famous outlets from the now-defunct Blanco Court.

Like some stalls that are capitalising on the Katong style of laksa or the Jalan Kayu style of prata, the Blanco Court copycats are riding on a famous name to get rich quick.

Now the site of Raffles Hospital in North Bridge Road, the two-storey hawker centre was home to two legendary stalls in the 1980s and 1990s.

To-Ricos Guo Shi, on the third floor, was owned by Mr Phua Gek Sia, now 50, and Garden Street Kway Chap, on the fourth floor, was run by Mr Koh Ah Soon, now 66.

For a taste of their tender stewed pig's innards, delicate flat noodles and tangy chilli sauce, customers had to queue at the stalls for at least 30 minutes.

The hawker centre was closed when the building was retrofitted into a hospital in 1998.

To-Ricos moved to Old Airport Road hawker centre and continues to operate there today.

Garden Street set up shop at Block 209, Hougang Street 21, for three years. It took a 30-month break before it re-emerged in Serangoon Gardens Food Centre last year.

With many customers losing track of the pair, kway chap stalls claiming Blanco Court links have sprung up in Bedok North and Holland Drive.

When LifeStyle visited Blanco Court Famous Teochew Guo Zhi in Block 3018, Bedok North Street 5, owner Heng Joo Chuan said it was the original one on Blanco Court's third floor.

'We were there for more than 20 years,' claimed the 42-year-old man with a tight perm. He added that his stall was founded by his father in the Beach Road area.

It is unclear which stall's identity Mr Heng is trying to assume. To-Ricos was on the third floor of Blanco Court but Garden Street is the one with a history that dates back to the Beach Road area more than 50 years ago.

In the April 14 issue of the Chinese daily, Shin Min Daily News, he told a reporter that he is the third generation in a family business specialising in kway chap.

However, the owners of To-Ricos and Garden Street say Mr Heng is not related to them.

Over in Holland Drive Food Centre in Block 44, a stall advertises itself as Blanco Court Kway Chap.

Hawker Tan Eng Hwee, 52, is the brother-in-law of Garden Street's owner, Mr Koh.

Mr Tan told LifeStyle that he learnt his cooking skills from Mr Koh during his Blanco Court days, and that he continued the business after Mr Koh retired in 2001.

But Mr Koh clarifies that his brother-in-law had only helped wash dishes after the stall moved to Hougang. Also, he did not pass his skills to Mr Tan until he took a break from working in 2001.

Even though To-Ricos and Garden Street customers have apparently reported sightings of 'Blanco Court kway chap' stalls in Jurong and Defu Lane too, both the original hawkers are unperturbed.

'Angry for what?' says Mr Koh, whose regulars recognise him by his hunched posture.

'My customers know my face, so even if they go to these stalls, they know they're not real. Never mind lah, you can't do anything about it.'

Adds To-Ricos' Mr Phua: 'As long as my customers stay with me, I don't care about them.'

Tale of two hawkers

THEY were the two hawkers who gave Blanco Court a reputation for the best kway chap in town.

But five years after moving to new locations, Mr Koh Ah Soon and Mr Phua Gek Sia are showing vastly different fortunes.

Mr Koh, owner of Garden Street Kway Chap, emerged from a 30-month retirement to set up shop at Serangoon Gardens Food Centre last year.

His stall's history goes back 50 years to Garden Street in the Beach Road area, where his Teochew father had set up business.

Mr Koh joined the trade when he was 12 years old, and took the stall to Blanco Court in 1980.

When the building closed in 1998, he moved to Block 209, Hougang Street 21. Business continued to be so overwhelming that he retired after three exhausting years.

He re-opened his stall last year as he was bored at home.

Now, the long queues have gone as not many of his regulars know of his new location.

But for Mr Phua, owner of To-Ricos Guo Shi, it is non-stop action from start to finish at Old Airport Road hawker centre.

Since moving there, he has enjoyed a faithful following from his old troop of regulars.

Within one year, business was so brisk that he had to take over the unit next door to use as a washing area. He has three helpers on weekdays and four on weekends.

When Garden Street's Mr Koh retired in 2001, Mr Phua was the only kway chap hawker left from the Blanco Court era.

A media onslaught ensued with newspaper reviews and TV show recommendations boosting its profile even further.

Garden Street may outlast To-Ricos

Last year, Mr Phua was even asked to be a judge on the Channel U cooking show, All-Star Potluck.

Not bad for someone whose original speciality was actually fried chicken.

Set up in Blanco Court in 1981, To-Ricos was named after a brand of chicken products from South America.

Mr Phua admits that he switched to selling kway chap three years later after seeing the success of the Garden Street stall.

'I experimented on the recipe and asked customers for comments to improve on it,' he says with a smile.

Despite To-Ricos' current success, it seems Garden Street may be the one to last.

The former has no successor as Mr Phua's 26-year-old locksmith son is not interested in the business.

Mr Koh's son, Jason, 31, on the other hand, is learning the ropes hoping to revive Garden Street's glory days.

Garden Street Kway Chap
Stall #21 Serangoon Gardens Food Centre
Opens: 8am - 3pm, Tuesdays - Fridays; 8am - 5pm on weekends; closed on Mondays

To-Ricos Guo Shi
#01-129D, Block 51 Old Airport Road
Old Airport Road Emporium & Cooked Food Centre
Opens: 11.30am - 4.30pm; closed on Mondays