SINGAPORE – Hawker stall Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow at Berseh Food Centre has shuttered following the death of its owner, Mr Song Yancheng (transliteration from Mandarin), on March 18.

The stall is also known as Hock Kee Fried Kway Teow, which is the name on its stall signage.

Mr Song, who was born in 1955, died late that night after “serving his last plate of kway teow”, according to his children who made two posts on the stall’s Facebook page on March 19.

There is a five-day wake until March 23 at 388A Bukit Batok West Avenue 5.

The stall, located at unit 01-16 of Berseh Food Centre in Jalan Besar, moved to its current location in March 2018.

While lower in profile compared with more famous stalls selling the dish, such as Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee, Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow has its own following.

It had shared a recent post by a customer, Mr Anthony Tan, who wrote about the stall on the Facebook page of Hawker United – Dabao 2020 on March 7. 

Mr Tan, who had ordered a $5 plate of char kway teow, praised the dish for its combination of sweet dark sauce, garlic, pork lard, chilli sauce and smoky aroma. 

Affectionately known as Uncle Song to his regulars, Mr Song had previously been featured on Episode 2 of television series Old Taste Detective, which put the spotlight on char kway teow. 

In an interview with host Quan Yifeng, Mr Song said he started frying char kway teow in 1977, after completing national service. 

He shared that in the early days, the three key ingredients of char kway teow were duck egg, fresh cockles and pork lard.

His style of cooking required a heavy use of garlic, pork lard and high heat. 

Mr Song’s secret to crispy pork lard was to fry it until it is 80 per cent cooked and almost golden brown, before adding white vinegar to get it crispy.

In the episode, he credited the stall with allowing him to make a living, raising his children and putting them through university.

Despite his children asking him to retire, he wanted to carry on frying kway teow for the sake of his customers, even if on a semi-retired basis. 

In a blog post on July 18, 2017, Dr Leslie Tay, author of food website ieatishootipost, wrote that Mr Song had inherited the stall from his mother-in-law, who operated a pushcart in Maude Road before moving into a coffee shop there.

Mr Song spent almost 20 years at that coffee shop before moving to 45 Syed Alwi Road in November 2015, then to his current hawker stall in 2018. 

Online tributes poured in following the news of his death and stall closure. 

Facebook user Don Leow posted a tribute on Hawkers United – Dabao 2020, describing Mr Song’s cooking as “old-school frying of char kway teow” and saying it had a nostalgic taste which was more savoury than sweet.

He added: “This is a tribute to the late Uncle Song. You are part of heritage food legacy – gone but not forgotten.”