'Felt like I won Toto': Customer feels lucky to have Hokkien mee legend fry a plate up for him

'Felt like I won Toto': Customer feels lucky to have Hokkien mee legend fry a plate up for him
PHOTO: Facebook/Vincent Ho

How does it feel to have a hawker legend cook for you? Well, as good as striking the lottery, according to one foodie.

In a post shared to the Can Eat! Hawker Food Facebook page on Thursday (Feb 2), Vincent Ho described patronising Kim's Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee located at 62B Jalan Eunos.

Kim's Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee should be familiar name to many Singaporeans. It is helmed by septuagenarian Tan Kue Kim, who made a name of himself in the '80s with the traditional dish of yellow and rice noodles fried with prawn stock and seafood.

But Tan was perhaps just as known for his ostentatious image — manning the wok while dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants, not forgetting the gold Rolex on his wrist.

"My friends call this stall the "Gim Chiu Peoh" (gold watch) hokkien mee," Ho corroborated.

Ho described how when he approached the stall, Tan was "chilling with a glass of red wine".

Despite being "shoved with a very extensive seafood menu" by a stall assistant, Ho indicated that he only wanted to order Hokkien mee.

And it was service with a smile which Ho received.

Ho shared: "It's such a privilege to have the legend himself fry a plate of his Hokkien mee himself and smile at the camera for us.

"Felt like I won tomorrow's Toto," added Ho, referring to the $12 million Toto Hong Bao draw on Friday (Feb 3).

The Straits Times had previously reported how Kim's Hokkien Mee was a household name in the '80s before completely disappearing for several years in the '90s.

According to doctor and food blogger Leslie Tay's account, Tan had shared with him that financial losses incurred from the purchase of a building in Geylang (renamed Kim's Building) was what forced him into temporary retirement.

But Tan soon bounced back, however.

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Although some reviews online shared that he's not always at the stall, many shared that Tan is still regularly spotted dishing up plates of Hokkien mee while dressed in his trademark long-sleeved shirt.

As to why he does that? Tan told Makansutra in 2014 that it "makes me look very professional", while at the same time, "keeps the heat off my arm".

Now you know.

While the stall at Jalan Eunos is his own, Tan has other outlets under the Kim's umbrella. One of them, Kim's Place Seafood in Joo Chiat is said to be run by his son. Another outlet, Kim's Singapore Bistro at Circular Road, serves up alcohol along with the Hokkien mee and other dishes.

ALSO READ: 'I also can't bear to raise prices': Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee to close after 36 years due to rising costs

candicecai@asiaone.com

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