Elderly man with hunched back runs Western food stall in Toa Payoh alone, receives outpouring of support online

The life of a hawker is not an easy one, even more so if they are of old age or have a medical condition.

So after netizen Malcolm David met an elderly hawker with a hunched back, he decided to pen a Facebook post to encourage others to lend their support to him.

Uploaded to Facebook group Toa Payoh Makan Places on Tuesday (Nov 23), the post has since been shared over 840 times and has garnered more than 140 comments.

Malcolm shared that the hawker, who he only identified as Lui, runs a stall in Toa Payoh Lorong 2 called Asia Western Food.

Based off a photo of the menu, the stall specialises in Western fare such as spring chicken, chicken cutlet rice and chicken nuggets. Everything is also priced affordably, ranging from $1.20 to $8.

Lui has helmed the store for 40 years, Malcolm shared, and only developed a hunched back around two to three years ago. However, Lui has not consulted a doctor yet about his back as he has been putting it off, Malcolm added. 

He also wrote that he tried to ask Lui to keep the change for his order, but the elderly hawker "strongly refused".

Many netizens who have patronised Lui's stall before also stepped forward to sing high praises of his food and service.

And this isn't the first time that someone has tried to spread the word about Lui's stall. On Nov 15, a netizen by the name of Serene Chin also wrote a post urging netizens living in Toa Payoh or Braddell to support Lui.

"As far as I know, uncle's stall has been around for decades, and he hasn't increased his prices. He has a heart of Buddha," Serene wrote in Mandarin.

"Since uncle is old and he works alone, do try to be patient while waiting for your food," she added.

Serene also posted pictures of her order from Asia Western Food along with a review of each dish, all of which were positive.

Earlier this year on July 14, food page Singapore Food Story also paid Lui's stall a visit.

"You will not find dry meat here. Uncle's fried chicken will satisfy your soul," the page declared, adding a tongue emoji to emphasise their point.

Address: Block 116 Toa Payoh Lorong 2, #01-04, Singapore 310116
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm to 10pm

melissateo@asiaone.com