Viral TikTok fame helps couple get customers for their new western food stall at Chinatown
A viral video made its rounds on TikTok lately — it was posted by one TikToker @gingerbunnie, who cheekily documented her boyfriend at work as a Western food hawker at his new stall called Not Your Grandpa’s Grill. Set to pulsating techno music, the video was titled “Gen Z realtor gf, hawker “koi fish tattoo” beng bf - a day in a life of a hawker”.
The slideshow vid goes on to show the couple, stallowner Matthew Lim, 35, and his girlfriend Josie Lee going about their day serving customers. But the star of the video is obviously the glam Josie, who works as a full-time real estate agent. The 25-year-old helps out at her boyfriend’s stall at least once a week.
In the video, Josie roasts Matthew with hilariously savage captions like “open shop = start prep, he say it’s called mise en place (he pronounce totally wrong) [sic]” while telling her followers about her workload. “Him: cook chicken. Me: take order, collect money, plate beans, make coleslaw, pack order. Whose job is harder huh!” she teased, while including selfies of herself doing errands like running out to buy a ladle for Matthew.
The cute couple only got together around two months ago, but have been friends since 2017 after getting to know each other when Matthew picked Josie up for a GrabHitch ride.
According to Matthew, he riffed on a very popular local Hokkien phrase for his stall name. Like how one might tease a friend’s bad driving by saying “this is not your grandfather’s road”, Matthew sets his stall apart by naming it a literal translation of “mm si ler ah gong grill”.
While it’s true that our ah gong doesn’t usually go for ang moh chicken chop, the menu at Not Your Grandpa’s Grill offers pretty standard Western fare. Like the aforementioned chicken chop, chicken cutlet and fish & chips, with sides like baked beans, fries and coleslaw.
The stall, which is Matthew’s first F&B venture, opened in mid-September this year. But he is already somewhat familiar with the hawker scene, as he used to help his mum at her roast duck rice stall called Chao Ji Roasted Meat that is located just a few units away from his shop.
How he became a hawker
Before he became a hawker, Matthew almost pursued a career as a salesman instead. Speaking to 8days.sg, he shares that he served time in prison for committing a crime, though he declines to reveal more details.
After his release, he was placed under a mandatory 10-month community-based programme under the Yellow Ribbon Project, which gives ex-offenders job opportunities so they can reintegrate in society. Matthew initially worked as a salesman and fire safety officer, but ultimately decided to set up his own F&B business after he graduated from the programme.
According to Matthew, he “just wanted to be a salesman” at first and did not consider entering the F&B industry. But he got the idea to become a hawker halfway through his programme. “I have always been interested in watching people cook. But I have never learnt how to cook before. So I went for a culinary course in prison and started to pick up cooking myself”, he explains.
His mother, a seasoned hawker herself, wasn’t thrilled about him entering the biz initially. “It’s hard work, really hard work, so she’s proud but she didn’t fully approve of me wanting to do this job, so that’s the unfortunate thing”, he shares. However she has come round to it, and Josie says Matthew’s mum is “quite proud of him” now.Working at the same hawker centre has its benefits for mother-and-son, because Matthew can now conveniently help out at his mum’s stall and vice versa.
Matthew’s mum’s Chao Ji Roasted Meat stall at Chinatown Complex
But why sell Western food, instead of the Chinese-style cuisine that his mum specialises in? The young towkay laughs and simply explains that he “likes eating western food”. He ended up learning most of his recipes from YouTube over a span of two months, which he tested and tweaked to create his own versions.
Matthew reckons that since “nobody was running the stall after the previous Western stall closed”, he took over and even reused some of the cooking equipment left behind by the previous tenants to cut costs. In total, he spent about $10,000 to set up shop.
Though his current income “still fluctuates”, he’s able to take home “around $100 a day” from his daily earnings. Matthew shares that “business is not bad” so far, and he can foresee himself making enough money to recoup his investment.
Customers from TikTok
Josie and Matthew’s viral video garnered over a thousand shares and over 229,000 views. They are now well-known enough that they have gotten customers who recognised them from TikTok. Josie shares that they are “very appreciative” of their TikTok supporters, adding that they had garnered some Gen-Z customers at their senior citizen-centric hawker centre after going viral.
One TikTok fan in particular even “approached [them] and designed a new signboard and menu” for the couple, after Josie casually shared that she wanted the stallfront to have more of an American diner vibe with a neon logo.While they have chosen to stick with their current signboard and menu design for now since it’s brand new, Josie says they will consider using their follower’s design in the future.
Considering that Josie’s unintentionally viral marketing tactic worked out, we couldn’t help but wonder why Not Your Grandpa’s Grill has no social media accounts of its own.
Josie laughingly explains that Matthew is actually “very embarrassed by the TikTok video, as he’s a very shy and paiseh person”. While she wanted to create a TikTok account for him, he’s “quite ambivalent about it, as he doesn’t like to be in front of the camera”. For now, Josie jokes that she will “secretly take” videos and post them on her own TikTok channel.
Josie drops by to help tend to the shop around once a week. She says her “office is just there [at Kreta Ayer Road], literally a two minutes’ walk away”. The supportive girlfriend adds that she “always brings her colleagues to the stall during lunchtime” and helps with cashiering and plating food.
On her experience as a first-time hawker assistant, Josie chirps that “it was very fun to be a team together [with her boyfriend]”. Her only grouse? “It’s very hot, even when it’s raining!”
The menu
Not Your Grandpa’s Grill has no newfangled mod Western dishes. The menu has a stable of reliable classics like Mushroom Sauce or Black Pepper Chicken Chop ($7.50), Chicken Cutlet ($7.50), Fish & Chips ($7.30), Grilled Fish ($7.30) and Pork Chop ($7.50).All mains come with fries, coleslaw and baked beans. Meanwhile, some sides and add-ons include Cheese Fries ($4.50), Chicken Wings ($1.50/pc) and Chicken Sausage ($1.20).
Mushroom Sauce Chicken Chop, $7.50 [8 DAYS Pick!]
The portions here are very generous, we find this the best item on the menu. Our juicy chicken chop has a good sear, and is blanketed in lots of chunky, almost soup-like mushroom gravy that’s lumpier and thicker than the typical thin brown gravy that other Western stall hawkers serve. It has stronger hints of mushroomy flavour, and Matthew explains that his gravy is made with fresh chopped mushrooms, as compared to the hawker-style mushroom sauce that’s usually made with canned champignons. The shoestring fries are decent — a little oily, but crispy at least. A dollop of creamy, crunchy coleslaw and baked beans cut the grease here.
Chicken Cutlet, $7.50 [8 DAYS Pick!]
A large slab of succulent chicken thigh is fried till a nice golden brown, served with a zesty wedge of fresh lemon to perk up the fried chook. It pairs well with the trio of sides that come with every main order.
Grilled Fish, $7.30
A fork-tender piece of grilled dory, peppered and herb-seasoned. It could have been marinated longer, though. We find ourselves using the stronger-tasting sides to ramp up the fish’s flavour.
Pork Chop, $7.50
Our pork chop order came a tad too charred and overcooked, though the portion is huge. Matthew’s chicken dishes fare better for now, but give this young hawker a chance to tweak his cooking, we say.
Cheese Fries, $4.50
Shoestring fries drizzled with an indulgent slosh of cheese-and-mayo sauce. Nothing super fancy, but it’s hard to go wrong with this crowd-pleasing snack.
The details
Not Your Grandpa’s Grill is located at #02-162 Chinatown Complex, 335 Smith St, S050335. Open daily except Thursday 11am - 8.30pm.
Photos: Aik Chen
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