Peter Goh, 65, might seem like a typical happy person who is all smiles and approachable.
However, unlike most people, the fried carrot cake hawker is deaf — something you might notice should you patronise his stall at Zion Riverside Food Centre.
As hawkers must usually communicate and listen to their customers’ order to prepare their food, Goh’s disability is a challenge.
He has his ways around it, though, considering that he’s been operating his father’s business for 40 years.
According to an 8world article on Oct 15, Goh said (through a sign language interpreter): “I know lip reading and our menu only has three choices: White, black, and mixed (black and white).
“Customers only need to point [to the sign] and indicate whether they’re eating in, getting take-out [and] whether they want chilli or not.”
Goh, who relies on lip-reading, revealed that things got more challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic when people were wearing masks.
So, he and his wife (who is also deaf) came up with the idea to place a ‘menu’ that people can point to.
Apart from the food and price, as Goh explained, the ‘menu’ also lets customers indicate whether they were dining in, getting takeaway and whether they want to add chilli.
Does Not Know What Caused His Disability
Goh confessed that he does not know what caused his disability.
He does not remember if he was born deaf or if his hearing loss was due to a high fever that he had as a kid. Yet, aside from the occasional inability to understand what others were saying, he had a happy childhood.
In fact, he told 8world that his childhood was no different than that of his sister, brother, and other children.
After completing six years in a school for the deaf, he went to a factory to learn welding skills. During his spare time, he would help out at his dad’s fried carrot cake stall along with his siblings.
“I in charge of frying the carrot cake. My father loves the fried carrot cake that I make.”
After his parents passed away in the ’80s, Goh and his siblings co-managed the business. However, his brother died and his sister started her own family, so Goh single-handedly took over the stall.
He was 26 then.
Using his father’s signature brand of “Lau Goh Teochew Chye Thow Kway”, Goh continued selling fried carrot cake at People’s Park Food Centre until he moved to Zion Riverside Food Centre in 1993.
His stall has been visited by many popular celebrities such as Li Nanxing and Jeanette Aw. In fact, tourists even come by to try to his food, shared Goh.
“The Japanese and Westeners prefer the white carrot cake. Singaporeans prefer the black carrot cake,” he said.
On a weekday, he can sell about 500 to 700 plates of carrot cake and on a weekend, it goes above 700. He starts at 11am when he opens his stall and only closes for the day at 9pm.
Peter Goh’s four children. | PHOTO: Peter Goh
Goh also has four children — they all have their own careers and three of them have started their own families.
However, his children aren’t keen to take over the business and he won’t force them. After all, he still has a passion for frying carrot cake and has no plans to retire.
“The happiest thing for me is seeing customers finish all the fried carrot cake on their plate. I’m proud to be able to raise my children by selling fried carrot cake. I will keep doing it,” Goh said.
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.