Another well-loved old-school hawker stall bites the dust. Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, located at ABC Brickworks food centre at Jalan Bukit Merah, has shuttered, reportedly due to the owner's retirement.
The stall is said to have 40 years of history and is run by its second-generation owner.
Facebook user Huey Li Tan shared news of the closure to the Hokkien Mee Hunting page on Feb 16, writing: "My favourite stall… closed for good". She addressed the hawker as "Uncle Soo" as she wished him a happy retirement.
"Many thanks for the yummy Hokkien mee… sure gonna miss it!"
The popular fried hokkien mee stall first entered the Michelin Bib Gourmand list in 2018, which allegedly made waiting times even longer.
A commenter shared in 2020 how the owner had purportedly taken down his Bib Gourmand sign in a bid to quell the burgeoning queues.
Based on reviews that we read, a 30-minute queue is not unusual, with a close to one-hour wait expected during peak periods.
Another reviewer described queuing for two hours one evening before finally getting get their hands on their plates of noodles.
Lamenting the closure, one Facebook commenter wrote: "This is the best for me. Very sad for my tummy indeed."
Several noted, however, that the standard of the noodles seemed to have dropped in recent years.
When AsiaOne visited the stall in 2021, the wait was over 45 minutes but unfortunately, the taste packed less of a punch than expected.
The stall's demise is just the latest in a recent exodus of other well-known hawker favourites, due to the owners' advancing ages.
They include Babas Peranakan at Chinatown Complex Food Centre and Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kuay Teow in Marine Parade.
One user shared: "Nowadays it's the trend… hawker retires and no one takes over…"
The news, however, elicited a surprisingly bold response from another Hokkien prawn mee seller at the nearby Alexandra Village Food Centre.
Wrote the account-holder, who evidently saw an opportunity and seized it: "My business hopefully can improve now with his retirement."
While some were tickled by the owner's "honest" response, others were none too impressed.