We were quite impressed by the modern nasi lemak at Ah Lemak, opened last July by a pair of enterprising young hawkers in a Tampines kopitiam. So we were surprised to learn that barely five months in, the guys have called it quits.
The sleekly decorated stall was helmed by professionally-trained chef Jason Koh (left in pic), 24, and ex-maritime engineer Cleavon Tan (right), 25. The former honed his skills as an intern for a year at The Dempsey Cookhouse & Bar, known for its contemporary European and American plates curated by America-based French celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten – skills which he translated into nasi lemak with atas flourishes like torched unagi and deep-fried soft-shell crab.
Ah Lemak quietly closed its doors on Boxing Day
Ah Lemak closed without fanfare on December 26. They followed up their closure with a Facebook announcement, thanking customers for their support while hinting at a future comeback.
“We planned to exit quietly, but there were a lot of customers messaging us – so we want to let everyone know that we will be away for a while and will be back stronger,” Jason tells us.
The price wasn’t right for the location
Despite having received a fair amount of media coverage – even selling out on several occasions – Ah Lemak lacked consistent day-to-day patronage from nearby residents, says Jason. He attributes the lacklustre business to the stall’s higher-than-usual price point – a plate at Ah Lemak went from $4.90 to $19.90 – and fancier dishes, which “wasn’t a good fit for residents in the area”.
With reference to the stall’s Mala Chicken Thigh nasi lemak set, he says, “A lot of customers were like, ‘Huh? Wah, nasi lemak with one chicken thigh so expensive ah, $6.50?’ But on our end, we are giving one whole chicken thigh, which was actually very value-for-money.”
As a rough comparison, another well-known nasi lemak joint in a Tampines industrial estate, Lawa Bintang, sells nasi lemak sets that range from $3.50 with a fried chicken wing, to $5 for a chicken thigh as well as a fancy $22 Lobster Nasi Lemak set.
“We haven’t been making a profit since day one”
This lack of business also meant that the hawkers have yet to make it out of the red. “We haven’t been making a profit since day one. We have been losing, losing, losing all the way, so we decided to stop this stall first, move elsewhere and come up with something different,” Jason shares.
He estimates that their losses total up to around $45K, including forfeiting the deposit of three months’ rent when they were unable to fulfill their contract. “We’d rather lose a few months’ deposit than continue hanging there and seeing all our hard work and effort wasted,” he says.
Still, they are thankful for their customers thus far, which included “regulars from all over Singapore and some of the residents supporting and appreciating [their] food”. “We really appreciate all the regulars who sent us texts to motivate us and tell us that we can’t stop growing,” Jason adds.
They plan to return in March – but not as Ah Lemak
The hawkers are confident that they can turn things around, as they’ll be dipping into more of their savings when they reopen in March next year – with a new concept, name and lower prices. “We have realised that with every cuisine, there’s a maximum price it can go up to [that customers will accept]. We’re going to change the cuisine we serve to something that people can afford, and are willing to pay for,” Jason says.
While he remains tight-lipped about the new iteration’s exact concept and menu, he tells us that the cuisine will be “something he’s more experienced with”. Popular dishes like their deep-fried pangasius fish fillet and mala chicken thigh will make a return, along with coconut rice – but the concept won’t be nasi lemak, and the stall won’t be named Ah Lemak. Hmm, nasi padang or fusion cai png, perhaps?
He hopes that this switch in concept, along with the stall’s new location in an “air-conditioned food court” in the “north-east” region of Singapore, will give their hawker biz a second wind. “We’ll continue to serve [our dishes] how we feel it’s meant to be served. [At the new stall,] the environment will be much better and there will be more young people, so hopefully they’ll be more willing to accept our food,” he says.
