From 6.30am till 1pm almost daily, Stanley Sim, 46, rustles up plates of
But the minute he knocks off in the afternoon, the former SAF military band regular rushes off for his part-time job as a music teacher. You see, the second-generation hawker who took over his parents’ well-loved stall spends most of his weekday afternoons conducting clarinet lessons at schools.
FROM SAF BAND MEMBER TO HAWKER
Prior to cooking for a living, Stanley served as a regular in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Central Band for 19 years, where he got the chance to perform for “four Presidents and two Prime Ministers”.
He was part of the marching band procession at the late PM Lee Kuan Yew’s funeral in 2015, which he says was one of his most memorable experiences. “On the day that we were about to push off the hearse, it started to rain very heavily. Our instruments were filled with water, so we tried our best to play the music anyway, and at the same time, we could see the crowds beside us crying, which touched me. When I was playing, I teared a bit, but I had a job to fulfill, so I had to move on with the music,” Stanley shared.
His role as part of SAF’s band involved constantly preparing music for upcoming parades and concerts, so he regularly practised in music drills.
(Photo: Stanley Sim)
WHY DID HE QUIT THE BAND?
However, after 19 years of service, the regular resigned in 2018, which was also the first day he helped out at his parent’s 20-year-old carrot cake stall (as an SAF officer, he wasn’t allowed to work elsewhere, even if it was at his family’s shop). He eventually took over their business in 2019, and currently mans the joint together with his folks daily.
Stanley said: “There was a point where my mum told me she wanted to retire, and since my career in the army would have to end by a certain age, I convinced myself to take over [the carrot cake business] so that I could see it as a long-term career”.
He explained that his contract with the army would’ve ended when he was 50 years old, hence his decision to retire earlier.
“When I resigned, I was 40 years old. If I were to retire at 50 I would have had to restart a new career again, and my two daughters would still be in school, so finance-wise it would be a burden if I quit at that age [when it’s tougher to start afresh],” he explained.
However, switching from playing the clarinet to becoming a hawker came with a 20 per cent pay cut for Stanley. “My monthly salary [in the army] was definitely more secure, as hawkers earn on a day-to-day basis, so if I don’t work on a day I’m sick, I won’t have income. But the plus side is that it’s my own business, so I won’t have to encounter office politics. Moreover, I can do this biz as long as I [am able-bodied enough] to work,” he said.
Carrot cake with preserved radish (chai poh). (Photo: Joe Yang/Burpple)
HE NOW HOLDS TWO JOBS
Though he devotes his mornings to working at 618 Sim now, Stanley hasn’t given up on his love for music. On Monday to Friday afternoons, the hawker conducts clarinet lessons to band students at primary and secondary schools.
While he admits that rushing from one job to another is “definitely tiring”, Stanley told us that teaching music recharges him. The hawker wakes up at 4.30am daily to work at the stall, and only knocks off at 6pm after his music classes.
He said: “Music has been a part of me since young. It's a skill, passion and habit that can't be done away with. When I play and teach the clarinet, it cures my mental and physical tiredness, and I feel accomplished seeing how my students grow”.
(Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
TWO-HOUR-LONG QUEUES FOR CARROT CAKE
Though Stanley’s primary skill is in music, the hawker seems to be able to fry up a mean plate of chai tow kway too, seeing as 618 Sim Carrot Cake still attracts up to two hour-long queues on weekends.
On weekdays, queue times average 45 minutes to an hour. We asked Stanley what’s the best time to head down, but the hawker told us that it fluctuates daily: “We really don’t know when the peak period timings are. Today at 6.30am in the morning, we already had a 1.5-hour-long queue!” he laughed.
IS HIS COOKING AS GOOD AS HIS PARENTS?
Are the hawker’s frying skills as good as his parents yet? “This one I’ll have to ask my customers! Throughout these five years I think I’m good enough in the sense that no one has complained, and people have come up to me to say that I’m on par [with my parents],” he laughed.
(Photo: Joe Yang/Burpple)
SIGNATURE HEAP OF CHAI POH HEAPED ATOP THE DISH
These days, the hawker takes turns with both his dad and mum to cook the carrot cake.
Though Stanley’s mum had wanted to retire initially, he said that “she now thinks that older people shouldn’t stop working completely”. Instead, she currently takes on a much lighter load at the stall.
“All the heavier jobs are done by me. The seasoning of the kway, the chai poh (preserved radish) and chilli are all cooked by me. Compared to last time, her workload has been lessened,” he said.
What else makes 618 Sim’s carrot cake special? It’s served in layers, like a stack of omelette pancakes mottled with radish bits. A regular sized plate here comes with four layers, and a large one with six. “Our carrot cake is stacked up layer by layer neatly, because we’re very anal about the look of the carrot cake. When customers look at it and say, ‘Oh, so nice!’, then it becomes more flavourful in their mind,” Stanley explained.
He told us that the highlight of their dish is the heaping pile of chai poh served atop the chai tow kway. Some chai poh is also mixed in with the carrot cake when it’s being fried.
Chai poh (preserved radish). (Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
Stanley said this idea came from his mother. “The chai poh is very salty when it’s sent to us, so we have to wash it and re-season it again, and the flavouring becomes not that strong after you wash it. So my mum decided that if we were to put more chai poh at the side, that it will balance out the taste better,” he explained.
Our colleague who tried the carrot cake said it was “nicely crispy on the outside and soft inside”. As for that pile of chai poh? “It’s a game changer – it’s not too salty and slightly sweet. The best part is you can decide how much chai poh to eat in every bite of carrot cake,” she added.
618 Sim Carrot Cake storefront. (Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
Fans of black carrot cake, you should know that only the white version is sold here. A plate of carrot cake
618 Sim Carrot Cake is at 618 Yishun Ring Rd, Singapore 760618. Open Mon, Wed-Sun 6.30am - 1pm. Closed on Tue. More info via Facebook.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...
But the minute he knocks off in the afternoon, the former SAF military band regular rushes off for his part-time job as a music teacher. You see, the second-generation hawker who took over his parents’ well-loved stall spends most of his weekday afternoons conducting clarinet lessons at schools.
FROM SAF BAND MEMBER TO HAWKER
Prior to cooking for a living, Stanley served as a regular in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Central Band for 19 years, where he got the chance to perform for “four Presidents and two Prime Ministers”.
He was part of the marching band procession at the late PM Lee Kuan Yew’s funeral in 2015, which he says was one of his most memorable experiences. “On the day that we were about to push off the hearse, it started to rain very heavily. Our instruments were filled with water, so we tried our best to play the music anyway, and at the same time, we could see the crowds beside us crying, which touched me. When I was playing, I teared a bit, but I had a job to fulfill, so I had to move on with the music,” Stanley shared.
His role as part of SAF’s band involved constantly preparing music for upcoming parades and concerts, so he regularly practised in music drills.
(Photo: Stanley Sim)
WHY DID HE QUIT THE BAND?
However, after 19 years of service, the regular resigned in 2018, which was also the first day he helped out at his parent’s 20-year-old carrot cake stall (as an SAF officer, he wasn’t allowed to work elsewhere, even if it was at his family’s shop). He eventually took over their business in 2019, and currently mans the joint together with his folks daily.
Stanley said: “There was a point where my mum told me she wanted to retire, and since my career in the army would have to end by a certain age, I convinced myself to take over [the carrot cake business] so that I could see it as a long-term career”.
He explained that his contract with the army would’ve ended when he was 50 years old, hence his decision to retire earlier.
“When I resigned, I was 40 years old. If I were to retire at 50 I would have had to restart a new career again, and my two daughters would still be in school, so finance-wise it would be a burden if I quit at that age [when it’s tougher to start afresh],” he explained.
However, switching from playing the clarinet to becoming a hawker came with a 20 per cent pay cut for Stanley. “My monthly salary [in the army] was definitely more secure, as hawkers earn on a day-to-day basis, so if I don’t work on a day I’m sick, I won’t have income. But the plus side is that it’s my own business, so I won’t have to encounter office politics. Moreover, I can do this biz as long as I [am able-bodied enough] to work,” he said.
Carrot cake with preserved radish (chai poh). (Photo: Joe Yang/Burpple)
HE NOW HOLDS TWO JOBS
Though he devotes his mornings to working at 618 Sim now, Stanley hasn’t given up on his love for music. On Monday to Friday afternoons, the hawker conducts clarinet lessons to band students at primary and secondary schools.
While he admits that rushing from one job to another is “definitely tiring”, Stanley told us that teaching music recharges him. The hawker wakes up at 4.30am daily to work at the stall, and only knocks off at 6pm after his music classes.
He said: “Music has been a part of me since young. It's a skill, passion and habit that can't be done away with. When I play and teach the clarinet, it cures my mental and physical tiredness, and I feel accomplished seeing how my students grow”.
(Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
TWO-HOUR-LONG QUEUES FOR CARROT CAKE
Though Stanley’s primary skill is in music, the hawker seems to be able to fry up a mean plate of chai tow kway too, seeing as 618 Sim Carrot Cake still attracts up to two hour-long queues on weekends.
On weekdays, queue times average 45 minutes to an hour. We asked Stanley what’s the best time to head down, but the hawker told us that it fluctuates daily: “We really don’t know when the peak period timings are. Today at 6.30am in the morning, we already had a 1.5-hour-long queue!” he laughed.
IS HIS COOKING AS GOOD AS HIS PARENTS?
Are the hawker’s frying skills as good as his parents yet? “This one I’ll have to ask my customers! Throughout these five years I think I’m good enough in the sense that no one has complained, and people have come up to me to say that I’m on par [with my parents],” he laughed.
(Photo: Joe Yang/Burpple)
SIGNATURE HEAP OF CHAI POH HEAPED ATOP THE DISH
These days, the hawker takes turns with both his dad and mum to cook the carrot cake.
Though Stanley’s mum had wanted to retire initially, he said that “she now thinks that older people shouldn’t stop working completely”. Instead, she currently takes on a much lighter load at the stall.
“All the heavier jobs are done by me. The seasoning of the kway, the chai poh (preserved radish) and chilli are all cooked by me. Compared to last time, her workload has been lessened,” he said.
What else makes 618 Sim’s carrot cake special? It’s served in layers, like a stack of omelette pancakes mottled with radish bits. A regular sized plate here comes with four layers, and a large one with six. “Our carrot cake is stacked up layer by layer neatly, because we’re very anal about the look of the carrot cake. When customers look at it and say, ‘Oh, so nice!’, then it becomes more flavourful in their mind,” Stanley explained.
He told us that the highlight of their dish is the heaping pile of chai poh served atop the chai tow kway. Some chai poh is also mixed in with the carrot cake when it’s being fried.
Chai poh (preserved radish). (Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
Stanley said this idea came from his mother. “The chai poh is very salty when it’s sent to us, so we have to wash it and re-season it again, and the flavouring becomes not that strong after you wash it. So my mum decided that if we were to put more chai poh at the side, that it will balance out the taste better,” he explained.
Our colleague who tried the carrot cake said it was “nicely crispy on the outside and soft inside”. As for that pile of chai poh? “It’s a game changer – it’s not too salty and slightly sweet. The best part is you can decide how much chai poh to eat in every bite of carrot cake,” she added.
618 Sim Carrot Cake storefront. (Photo: 8days/Glyn Seah)
Fans of black carrot cake, you should know that only the white version is sold here. A plate of carrot cake
618 Sim Carrot Cake is at 618 Yishun Ring Rd, Singapore 760618. Open Mon, Wed-Sun 6.30am - 1pm. Closed on Tue. More info via Facebook.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...