Engineering to hawker: This first-year university student left school to sell char kway teow

While helming a hawker stall is no easy feat, it seems like more and more tenacious young cooks are willing to take up that challenge. 

This includes 24-year-old Samuel Chiang, who recently set up a stall hawking char kway teow at Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre.

The stall, named Woks of Taste, opened just two weeks ago on April 1, but it's no April Fool's joke.

Pursuing his love for cooking 

Samuel tells AsiaOne that since young, he has always been passionate about cooking — so much so that he signed up for the 12-month Hawkerpreneurship programme by Temasek Polytechnic (TP) and the National Environment Agency (NEA). 

But to pursue this dream, Samuel had to give up his place at a local university, where he was a first-year student. 

And while you might expect Samuel to have some form of culinary background, he instead holds a diploma in aerospace engineering from TP. 

"Cooking is just my hobby during my free time," he says, explaining that he usually just cooks for his friends and family "when time permits". 

"I also regularly watch cooking videos during my free time so that I can further improve my knowledge of different cuisines," shares the self-taught cook. 

While some more conservative families may frown upon such a career path, Samuel shares that thankfully, his loved ones were very supportive as they know how much he loves to cook. 

From home cook to hawker 

As much as Samuel is passionate about cooking, transitioning from a home cook to a hawker is no easy feat — especially since the dish he chose to specialise in isn't the easiest to execute. 

Samuel shares that he had to spend plenty of time researching and studying various char kway teow recipes. Apart from that, Samuel was also was attached to an experienced hawker during the Hawkerpreneurship programme, who eventually passed on his own recipe. 

Samuel then tweaked and fine-tuned the recipe to his liking and put it through a trial run. 

Besides various taste tests by his friends, the final product was eventually approved by a panel of judges from NEA, who absolutely "loved it", he tells us.

Hoping future generations can enjoy char kway teow 

So, why char kway teow, out of all the local dishes out there?  

"When I had to choose which hawker dish to sell, I chose char kway teow without any hesitation," Samuel tells us confidently and adds that he has loved the dish since he was young. 

In fact, he adores it so much that long before he set up his stall, he would whip up his own rendition of the dish at home. 

He was also inspired to specialise in the dish when he noticed that many hawkers selling char kway teow are getting on in years, Samuel says.

"I'm afraid that one day the future generations won't get to eat it. I aim to carry on this hawker culture so that many more can still enjoy this favourite dish of mine."

Address: Blk 17 Upper Boon Keng Rd, #01-40, Singapore 380017
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 8am to 2pm 

ALSO READ: From nightlife to hawkers: These 5 friends set up a stall selling minced meat noodles with abalone and ikura

melissateo@asiaone.com