Tastemakers: Ex-teacher sells modernised nasi padang to preserve parents' food legacy

Straits Times

10-05-2025

Mr Eugene Tan, co-owner of Serangoon BBQ & Curry, and nasi padang bowls sold at his outlets. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
SINGAPORE – While his classmates spent weekends at play and enjoyed family outings during school holidays, Mr Eugene Tan's boyhood memories are of cutting long beans and gutting fish at his parents' nasi padang stall.
By age 13, he was dispatching live crabs. His brother, who is two years younger, began helping out too, at age seven. 'Our school holidays were spent doing 'child labour' and 'interning' at our parents' stall,' says Mr Tan, a 46-year-old former teacher.
At first, it felt novel. 'When I was 12, it was fun learning how to clean seafood,' he says. His brother was eager to fry eggs and omelettes. But they quickly realised that once they mastered a task, it became part of their responsibilities.
The worst job was cutting 4kg of long beans at a time, Mr Tan recalls with a grimace. It was difficult slicing them so precisely that his parents would not scold him for wasting edible ends.
'They were frugal and very conscious about cost and minimising food wastage,' he says.
The work was demanding, but after initial resentment, Mr Tan appreciated the time spent with his parents, Mr Tan Tiam Bock, 74, and Madam Cheong Chiew Leng, 70. He also developed a deep respect for the dishes they cooked at Serangoon Nasi Padang, first opened at the now-defunct Somerset Eating House in 1983.
One of his happiest memories is his father taking the family to Commonwealth Crescent Market for fish head beehoon at 9pm after work, which both he and his mother loved. Mr Tan and his brother used to help out on weekends and during their school holidays.
By 15, he understood why his parents needed help. 'They gave us whatever we needed without spoiling us. I learnt the value of hard work and how money is not easy to come by.'
That lesson stayed with him through a 14-year teaching career, a postgraduate scholarship and a switch to the corporate world. But in 2021, Mr Tan left his job as a trainer and business development manager at an aesthetics group, returning to the sambal-scented world of his childhood to preserve his parents' nasi padang legacy.
The couple never expected either son to take over the business as they believed a food stall offered poor prospects.
Mr Tan had pursued education, inspired by his teachers at Clementi Town Secondary School. With a social science degree and a post-graduate diploma in education from the National Institute of Education, he returned to teach English at his alma mater.
He later earned a master's degree in education, curriculum and teaching from the same institute, and became a curriculum policy officer at the Ministry of Education.
He had once aspired to be a principal, but his perspective changed in 2017 while teaching General Paper and heading the student leadership and scholarships department at Dunman High School.
At 40, he realised he lacked real-world experience outside education and 'felt it was time to move to the private sector to learn new skills'.
He received an offer to join SL Aesthetic Group, a Singapore-based medical aesthetics and wellness group, as a trainer and business development manager in 2018.
The following year, he took his boss, Dr Gabriel Wong, 39, to his parents' stall, which consistently drew long lunchtime queues at a Bishan coffee shop. Dr Wong praised the food and encouraged Mr Tan to learn the recipes, offering to be his business partner if Mr Tan pursued the idea.
In September 2020, Mr Tan's parents sold the stall, including the business name, and retired. Soon after, former customers began calling – the food 'tasted different'.
Mr Tan Tiam Bock asked if he wanted to restart the business together. He said yes immediately.
By October 2021, they were back and under a new name, Serangoon BBQ & Curry, in Sin Ming Road. Father and son co-owned the stall with $10,000 in shared capital. They reduced the menu and focused on consistency.
Mr Eugene Tan, who left SL Aesthetic Group in December 2020, operated using spreadsheets and systems.
He wanted to refine and scale the business, but met resistance. He clashed with his parents over reducing food costs from 50 to 40 per cent and raising prices to reflect rising ingredient costs.
They also disagreed over food preparation, from grilling chicken to frying eggs. His parents each had his or her own style of cooking.
'When it was my turn to cook, I used a combination of their methods, but they would scold me for not strictly following their individual styles,' he says.
His father had learnt to cook in a Sembawang kampung, helping neighbours prepare dishes like beef rendang, sayur lodeh and sambal goreng for Malay weddings.
'My father cooked by feel and experience, but I had to put recipes and quantities down on paper,' says Mr Tan. 'I had to weigh ingredients – it was a painful process. He would insist I use my eyes instead.'
Despite the tiffs, learning to cook from his father strengthened their bond.
Mr Tan learnt the intricacies of his father's signature dish – sambal goreng – made with long beans, tau kwa and tempeh, each deep-fried separately for the right texture. His father insisted on making sambal fresh daily.
'Though his methods are tedious and not always explained scientifically, I gained culinary skills and deeper respect for his craft. I also learnt patience,' says Mr Tan, who is a bachelor.
Mr Eugene Tan has life-size standees of his parents at his Bishan outlet.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
In August 2023, he persuaded his father to invest in a combi oven which cost about $20,000, as it would enable them to cook 100 pieces of BBQ chicken at a time in 18 minutes, with juicier and more consistent results.
'The oven also ended our quarrels about how to grill chicken,' he adds with a laugh.
In November 2024, he and Dr Wong opened a fast-casual outlet with the same name at shopping mall Junction 8 with $250,000 in capital. The 490 sq ft outlet seats 20.
He ditched the traditional display of trays of food. Instead, orders are made through self-service kiosks and the food is freshly prepared.
Customers choose from five mains – including BBQ chicken and beef rendang – and 11 side dishes like sambal goreng and blossom achar. Bowls start at $10.90 for BBQ chicken with curry vegetable, quail eggs balado, sambal belacan and rice.
Another popular option is the beef rendang bowl with sambal goreng, blossom achar and rice at $13.90.
(From left) Beef rendang, sambal goreng, blossom achar, sambal belacan and rice; and BBQ chicken, curry vegetable, quail eggs balado, sambal belacan and rice, at Serangoon BBQ & Curry.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Drinks include Calamansi & Sour Plum Slushy and Momo Peach Slushy ($3.90 each).
(From left) Calamansi & Sour Plum Slushy and Momo Peach Slushy at Serangoon BBQ & Curry.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
In January, Mr Tan and his father closed the Sin Ming outlet, shifting operations to a central kitchen in Bedok to prepare food for the Junction 8 location and to support future outlets. (His father is no longer a shareholder in the new outlets because he is preparing to retire eventually.)
The Junction 8 outlet was halal-certified in March .
'We've always been a pork-free establishment,' says Mr Tan. 'It wasn't difficult to get halal certified since we've used halal ingredients from the beginning in 1983.'
In March, he opened a second outlet at Raffles Specialist Centre. The 800 sq ft space, which can seat 40, cost $150,000 to set up.
Both outlets are seeing brisk business and are on track to break even within a year, with a projected revenue of $1 million in total by year-end.
Still, there have been missteps. Mr Tan once lost his temper with a customer who complained that the nasi padang did not match the menu photos. 'I told her to please never come back,' he says. 'But I regretted it. We depend on customers.'
He has since learnt to manage negative feedback more calmly.
Running his business has enabled Mr Tan to hone his patience.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Today, he works 12-hour days with no days off, juggling operations across outlets, filling in for staff and managing social media with Dr Wong. His parents oversee food preparation at the central kitchen.
'Working in front lets me gather feedback and introduce our brand story,' he says.
He also draws from his teaching background to manage staff. 'Back then, I was responsible for students' well-being. Now, I focus on staff development and engagement.'
He and Dr Wong plan to open another outlet by the end of 2025 , likely in the heartland. Their long-term plan: Eight outlets in Singapore and overseas expansion.
Some purists say he is not doing justice to his father's food by modernising it. But Mr Tan stays focused.
'We choose dishes based on popularity and practicality – can we replicate the quality if we scale up?'
That mission – to honour his parents' decades of dedication – keeps him going. He even has life-sized standees of his parents displayed at his Bishan outlet.
'Some customers recognise the chicken and my father's cooking even if they don't see him,' he says. 'They realise it's the same dish, just under a different name.'
He recalls a couple who had eaten at his father's stall since their school days. Now married, they visited the Junction 8 outlet and told him the food tasted just like they remembered. 'That makes it worth it.'
When asked what keeps him going, he does not hesitate. 'I owe it to my parents.'
Tastemakers is a personality profile series on food and beverage vendors who are creating a stir.
Hedy Khoo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers food-related news, from reviews to human interest stories.
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