From catwalk to wok: Model opens stall selling Malaysian-style dishes inspired by mother's cooking

On weekday afternoons, you'd probably catch Cheong Ming Kent, better known as Kent, behind the stove at his Tanjong Pagar Plaza coffee shop stall, Mama's Kent. 

The 40-year-old Malaysian, who moved to Singapore in 2008 and is now a permanent resident, has been in the local F&B scene for over a decade. 

While the Central Business District crowd loves him for his scrumptious Penang-style dishes, his talents don't just lie in the kitchen. 

Before becoming a chef, Kent was a full-time model with an agency called Jeffery Chung Models, he told AsiaOne when we met him for a meal at his stall. 

In fact, he still models there as a freelancer. 

Would you believe that before becoming a model and opening his own hawker stall, Kent worked as a Cisco officer? 

He was one for a year and a half before breaking his bond and becoming a tui na assistant for a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner. 

One day at work, a colleague offered to do muscle scraping for him as his body was sore from exercise. 

When he removed his shirt, she was shocked by how fit he was. 

Praising his physique and looks, she encouraged him to try his hand at modelling. 

Although Kent was hesitant at first, his colleague eventually convinced him to give it a shot and recommended him to Jeffery Chung Models in 2010. 

"She told me to not waste any more time and go into modelling," Kent recounted. 

There, he attended a modelling course and learned various skill sets like how to catwalk, pose, apply makeup and carry himself. 

Kent started out doing part-time modelling but three years into the job, he found himself enjoying the work tremendously and transitioned into a full-timer. He was also featured in advertisements for AIA and myCK. 

While modelling was fun, he admitted that it could get tiring at times, especially since the working hours were erratic. 

"Some events and shoots could stretch on for a long time but overall, it was manageable and enjoyable," he shared. 

Although Kent loved his job, he realised it was becoming increasingly unstable, especially as younger, newer models entered the industry and reduced the pool of opportunities. 

"I felt a bit sad because the new models who joined looked younger and were more handsome, so clients were more likely to choose them," he said, adding that after the age of 30, models like himself are considered old. 

"As such, I had fewer modelling opportunities and my source of income became unstable." 

While Kent was fretting over his future, Jeffery asked if he was interested in joining a cooking show called Let's Cook in 2014. 

By then, Kent already had some cooking background as he used to help his mother in the kitchen when he was a child. So he participated and was placed under the Malaysian category, where he was crowned the winner. 

After the big win, Kent was encouraged by his friends and family to join another bigger cooking competition called Neighbourhood Chef in 2015, where he emerged champion. 

Seeing his success, Kent's friends and family encouraged him to start his own F&B business. 

Despite having no other F&B background apart from what he picked up from his mother, Kent took a leap of faith, quit his full-time modelling job and opened his first hawker stall at Tanjong Pagar Plaza in 2015. 

Unfortunately, Kent lost all $15,000 of his savings that he had pumped into the business within the first six months of opening Mama's Kent. 

While he was demoralised, he refused to give up and pressed on. 

To earn some side income and keep himself and the business afloat, Kent did freelance modelling at night after running the stall in the morning. He also took up modelling gigs on the weekends. 

"I had to persevere. For me, when I do something, I give myself time to try something and tried to think positively," he said. 

And it's a good thing he fought on because the 10 years later, the business is still alive and thriving. 

A tough F&B market 

While Kent survived and kept his F&B business alive, he has seen many other owners who weren't so lucky. 

"Running an F&B business has always been tough but recently, it's been even harder because of the increase in costs, rent and ingredients, as well as a decrease in manpower," he lamented. 

"It's not easy. I've been in the industry for 10 years and I've seen many people try, fail and lose money. Only around 10 per cent of these people succeed."

Kent shared that in the same coffee shop he's working in now, he has seen multiple stalls open and close within a few months. 

There are even some current stall owners who would confide in him that their businesses are not doing well. 

"If you don't lose money, it's already very good," he said. 

Despite surviving this long, Kent himself is prepared to shutter his stall if things get any harder, and predicts that he may only last another two to three more years. 

"I've already been in the industry for 10 years, I'm already 40. This is a very difficult time for me because at this age, it is very hard to change careers and switch to another industry," he said. 

"I still hope that I can continue for as long as possible, but I know it's not easy."

What's on the menu? 

Kent's love for food and cooking started at a very young age. 

He grew up in a kampung in Pahang, Malaysia, with his parents and two siblings, and often ate his mother's delicious home-cooked meals. 

"When I was small, my mother cooked every day for us because she believed takeaway food wasn't good for us. She was a responsible housewife, she took care of us very well," he recounted. 

"My childhood was very simple, it really was the kampung life." 

When he was just nine years old, he started helping his mother both inside and outside the kitchen. 

Some of his duties included him collecting dry wood and charcoal for the stove, starting the fire, chopping garlic, and preparing live fish that his father caught from the ocean. 

While it was hard work, it helped hone the skills that Kent uses today in the kitchen. 

Many of the dishes served at Mama's Kent are inspired by Kent's childhood and his time back in Malaysia.

Once in a while, Kent's parents come to Singapore to visit him and they're proud of him and his F&B business. 

But his mother does have concerns about his health.

"She tells me that I am now 40 and in a few years' time, my body may not be able to take it anymore because it is hard work," he shared. 

His mother has also encouraged him to plan for the future and look for potential jobs that would be less taxing on his body. 

When we asked Kent about his bestsellers, he immediately mentioned the Mama's Chili Prawn ($10) or anything with seafood. 

Other popular dishes include the Malaysia Curry Chicken Rice ($8.50), which Kent limits to 30 portions per day, as well as the Signature Braised Pork Rice ($7.50). 

Kent also shared that despite the rising cost of ingredients, he has refused to increase his prices. 

"Because I appreciate my customers and want them to enjoy my food," he said. 

Kent added that he hopes the lower prices will encourage more diners to continuously patronise his stall. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com