This made my day: Hawker in Chinatown helps shell cockles for elderly customer with stiff joints

With stiff joints in his hands, one wheelchair-bound elderly man would've found it difficult to indulge in a bowl of blood cockles, had it not been for the stall owner taking time out to shell each one for him.

The touching scene, which warmed the cockles of many hearts, was captured by reader a few days ago at People's Park Food Centre in Chinatown, Shin Min Daily News reported.

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The owner in question, 52-year-old Pat Phua, runs Super Star No1 Penang Assam Laksa.

According to Phua, the man, who appeared to be in his 70s, had visited her stall twice in the past week, and both times she'd help to shell the cockles for him.

"If memory serves me right, this uncle actually came by quite a while ago, but because I was too busy I wasn't able to help him. He didn't say anything either," she told the Chinese daily.

When he turned up again, he asked if it were possible for someone to help him shell the cockles as the joints in his hands were stiff. Hearing that he really wanted to eat them and considering that it was around 8pm, past the shop's peak hour, Phua was more than happy to go the extra mile.

To make the shelling easier, she picked out larger sized cockles to cook, before spending roughly 10 minutes shelling around 30 cockles for him.

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She didn't stop there too. Seeing that the elderly man still had some trouble with eating, she carefully picked out the flesh of each cockle and fed it to him.

The man thanked her profusely afterwards.

Speaking with the daily news, Phua revealed that since the business started two years ago, she's never had customers ask her to shell their cockles. It didn't cross her mind that her small act of kindness would be photographed and sent to the media either.

"I'm happy just helping him fulfil his wish."

rainercheung@asiaone.com