French restaurant chef-turned-farmer now hawker selling tasty S$5.50 XO noodles with sous vide pork
While variety is the key to success for many stall owners, first-time hawker Ng Jia Quan, 35, has decided on just one offering at his new Holland Drive Market & Food Centre stall. Opened on October 17, Lau Mian, which means ‘tossed noodles’ in Chinese, serves dry wheat noodles with house-made XO sauce (a spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong), with a choice of pork or seafood toppings for $5.50 and $6.50 respectively.
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The hawker, who cooks and manages his stall solo, tells 8days.sg that his spartan menu stems from pragmatism. “Actually I wanted to start with a larger menu, but when I came here and started doing everything, I realised that I have to streamline the menu or the work’s gonna kill me. I want to do these two dishes very well before I slowly expand,” he shares.
Lau Mian’s stall front is similarly minimalist: its elegant, Tiffany blue signboard features an AI-generated illustration of a bowl of noodles next to the stall’s name in mandarin. The simple yet striking decor stands out from the more traditional stalls in the hawker centre.
Photos: Ng Jia Quan
Fine-dining chef to farmer
Prior to his hawker venture, Jia Quan worked at mod European restaurant The Boathouse and French fine-diner Olivia Cassivelaun Fancourt (both are now defunct) as a chef de partie for five years before his interest shifted to farming.
“Back then, the whole farm-to-table movement was just picking up and I found it really interesting. When I was working at OCF, we were importing most of our ingredients from France and I became sort of jaded by that,” he explains.
Wanting to learn more about farming, the millennial spent the next five years working at urban greening company Greenology and social enterprise Edible Garden City. His most memorable experience? Insect cultivation to create a sustainable feedstock from organic waste. “We were growing black soldier flies as their larvae feed on food waste, and the larvae themselves can be used as a [nutritious] feed for chickens. That was kind of interesting,” he reminisces.
Opening a hawker stall has always been part of his plan
“My purpose for learning about farming has always been to come back to food at some point. After the five year mark, I felt like I’ve learned enough and it’s time to return to cooking. I wanted to open a hawker stall because it’s the most accessible kind of food,” he shares. The chef invested around $30K to set up his stall, specialising in noodles because, as he puts it, it’s his favourite food. “I like noodles in general. It’s like rice, it’s a staple. You can do whatever you want with it, that’s the beauty of it,” he says.
Which is harder – farming or being a hawker?
For Jia Quan, there’s no easy answer. “I think both are difficult in different ways. Farming is tough and low-paying but rewarding, and you can work as part of a team [if you’re an employee]. Being a hawker means you have to do all the work by yourself and there’s no salary if the business doesn’t make money,” says the hawker.
Speaking of salary, he adds: “I’m not drawing a salary now as the business is not making money yet. As a farmer, I was earning around $3,000 as I was in a management role and I earned around $2,500 back when I was chef de partie in a restaurant.
To stand out from competitors, the chef knew he had to create something unique. “I wanted to offer local food, but with a twist. I don’t want it to be too alienating to the local market. I guess you can call my food Chinese fusion. The XO sauce is a Hong Kong sauce and I’m using Taiwanese-influenced braised pork,” he shares. “Eventually, after I establish a customer base, I will add more fusion elements. Maybe a bit more Western and Japanese elements.”
For now, his menu does not feature any ingredients from local farms. “I hope to incorporate more local ingredients in the future. Perhaps something inspired by lei cha (Hakka thunder tea rice, which uses a variety of vegetables and herbs),” he says.
Even though Jia Quan is still passionate about sustainable farming, he recognises that opening a farm-to-table restaurant in Singapore is “very, very difficult”. “Even with sufficient financial resources, we still have to rely on imported produce due to limited local suppliers,” he explains.
Business “better than expected” even if it's "not making money yet"
Despite Lau Mian’s spartan menu, sales have exceeded the hawker’s expectations. “I started off thinking I was going to sell 30 to 40 bowls [daily], but I’m selling an average of 70 to 80 bowls now,” he shares happily. Lau Mian is open for breakfast and lunch, primarily attracting a young office crowd.
To cut costs, the hardworking hawker personally washes his stall’s bowls and cutleries. “Initially, I hired a cleaning company to do it and they charged almost $800 per month. Together with other service and conservancy charges, that’s like $1K plus in expenses. So I thought I’d cut costs by washing them myself,” he says.
He has a similarly grounded approach for Lau Mian’s future: “I’m not thinking of any expansion. I just want to run this stall well and I hope to attract more business from the older residents in the area.”
XO Lau Mian (Dry) with Braised Pork & Egg, $5.50 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Tossed in a fragrant puddle of oyster sauce, shallot oil and house-made XO sauce, the supplier-sourced wheat noodles are springy with an excellent bite reminiscent of what’s offered at fancier noodle joints. Savoury, sweet and faintly spicy, the dried scallop-studded XO sauce radiates umami in every bite. Just don’t expect it to look glam.
The sauce-splattered bowl and homely pork chunk topping may look plain and modest, but they taste delicious. Cooked sous vide style, the pork shoulder is succulent and tender. The braise is milder than Taiwanese or local ter kah, but imparts enough flavour to complement the stronger-tasting noodles. A halved gooey-yolked egg, chopped scallion and home-style Chinese radish and carrot soup complete the comforting meal.
XO Lau Mian (Dry) with Seafood, $6.50
The seafood version comes with prawn, Japanese baby scallop, mussel and clams (but no egg) – the freshness and variety of toppings are worth paying the extra dollar for if you’re a fan of shellfish.
Bottom line
A lovely hawker gem with a modern, refreshing take on Chinese-style noodles. Cooked perfectly, the umami-slicked noodles are tasty on their own, while the tender braised pork adds a hearty touch to the meal. Think of this as an affordable version of flavourful, dry-tossed la mian that you get from casual noodle restaurants.
The details
Lau Mian is at #02-30 Holland Drive Market & Food Centre, 44 Holland Dr, S270044. Open daily except Sun, 9am – 2pm.
Photos: Aik Chen
