Yong tau foo stall at Chinatown to stay open after all, as only one brother is leaving the hawker life

Singapore's Chinatown witnessed a surprising turn of events when a young hawker stall, New Horse Noodles, announced it would be closing its doors after just five months of operation. However, the story took an unexpected twist as one of the brothers decided to stay in the hawker business rather than leave it entirely.

Thirty-one-year-old Troy Lee and his 29-year-old brother Scott opened the stall in June, leaving their finance careers behind to pursue the hawker life. Despite having no prior experience in the food and beverage industry, the brothers trained for 10 days in Melaka under an 85-year-old hawker who taught them how to make Hakka yong tau foo for free.

The Lee brothers' venture gained popularity, receiving impressive reviews on Google. However, on September 28, Troy announced on video that they would be closing the stall. He stated that he had known since early August that the hawker life wasn't for him. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that trying it out had shown them that it wasn't the path they wanted to pursue.

In a surprising development, the brothers announced on October 28 that Scott would continue running the stall on his own. In an Instagram video that parodied an Apple product unveiling, Troy handed over the floor to Scott, who explained that the stall's closure had garnered significant media attention. People had come to try the food at New Horse Noodles, and Scott believed it would be a waste to end the business.

Realizing that he wouldn't have to manage the stall alone after receiving widespread attention, Scott withdrew his application to close the hawker stall with the National Environment Agency (NEA). He confided that having someone to help him would free up time to focus on serving customers and building relationships with them.

In response to Scott's decision to stay, New Horse Noodles will now be open six days a week instead of five, with the exception of Fridays, which will be reserved for preparation. Despite the added overhead costs, Scott remains committed to making the stall work, promising to do his best regardless of the outcome.