From flying to frying: Former SIA cabin crew leaves job to begin new adventure as hawker in Woodlands

Cherry Tan became a Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew at the age of 23.

She tells AsiaOne: "I'm actually embarrassed to say I tried at least 10 times before I got in."

After putting in so much effort to land this dream job of hers, however, the now 29-year-old has opted to leave SIA, swapping the iconic cabin crew sarong kebaya for an apron instead.

She, along with her Taiwanese husband, former hotel chef Duncan Hsu, invested $30,000 to begin their journey as hawkers in May.

Their stall, Kiang Kiang Taiwan Teppanyaki, located in Woodlands sells Taiwan night-market-style teppanyaki.

Think of mains like chicken chop served with pasta or rice served on a hotplate. Cherry explains that this type of teppanyaki is "very common" in Taiwan.

It looked very similar to the typical Western fare in Singapore so I was intrigued about how the food on offer would taste.

But before that, I wanted to unpack the journey of a millennial who went from a career of flying to frying.

Working towards the dream

Getting her foot in the door as an SIA cabin crew came with its challenges but Cherry did not entertain the idea of giving up at the first hurdle.

An obstacle she had to overcome initially was controlling her nervousness during the recruiting process.

Cherry admits that this would appear in the form of stutters, which only diminished her chances of being recruited.

"But back then, I was just really young," she explains, adding that she was only 19 when she first started interviewing.

An internship at The Ritz-Carlton provided her opportunities to engage with guests, building her confidence.

Cherry continued trying out for the SIA role, and she eventually got it in 2018.

After finally securing her dream job, she thought that she was going to "fly for life".

A healthy amount of off-days in a month along with a "decent" salary, all while jetting around the world. 

But after four or five years as a cabin crew, she wondered if her future was going to be in this industry.

When pressed on whether a particular incident sparked this rethink, Cherry remained tight-lipped, citing "personal reasons".

However, she adds: "Even though SIA provided a very good career journey, it might not have been in line with what I was looking for."

Hawker life

Cherry had long known that Duncan had plans to start his own business.

On her end, becoming an entrepreneur never really crossed her mind. However, she was keen on being a part of this adventure.

While she admits to missing the flying lifestyle, Cherry feels that this career switch would be just as, if not more, rewarding.

"I know it's going to be worth it. My husband is happy every day," she says. 

Cherry's role during the initial stages of the business was crucial.

She understood that, as a foreigner, her husband may struggle to work out local rules and regulations or administrative matters when it comes to setting up a business in Singapore.

"Even now, I see myself in a supporting role," she adds.

When I popped by during lunch hour, I had the chance to better understand their roles in the hawker stall.

Duncan mans the kitchen, barking out instructions as he clears orders, while his wife has a customer-facing role, being in charge of sales and services.

Even on a regular workday afternoon, Kiang Kiang Taiwan Teppanyaki had plenty of customers.

But working in a hectic environment isn't all that new to Cherry.

"In the aircraft, the galley is [also] very small. There are a lot of movements within a confined space so I was trained to have a lot of situational awareness," she says.

Being aware of her surroundings in order to ensure the safety of her colleagues has become almost second nature to her.

Cherry tells AsiaOne that business has been good so far, and at times it reaches a point where demand far exceeds supply.

There are days when the stall does not have enough manpower to prepare ingredients for a lunch or dinner service.

They would prep as much as they can but there have been occasions where customers have had to be turned away.

Kiang Kiang Taiwan Teppanyaki is looking into increasing its headcount in order to solve this issue.

During my visit, Cherry mentioned that the Teppanyaki Beansprouts were sold out for the day.

So I paired my Chicken Chop Set ($8.50) with Teppanyaki Pasta, Sweet Corn and a mix of their Mushroom and Black Pepper sauce.

Cherry also proudly mentioned that the chicken thigh is grilled on the spot (so be prepared to wait about 10 minutes upon ordering).

Pre-cooking the chicken was never on the cards as this would result in the meat turning dry.

At its price point and portion size, it's no wonder this menu item is the stall's bestseller.

The chicken thigh is juicy, with a lovely sear from the grill while the sweet corn complements the two sauces well, especially the punchier Black Pepper sauce.

The pasta was also decent.

Overall, it was a very pleasant meal, and given the huge serving size, I found myself struggling to clean up the plate.

On my return, I'd probably give the Halibut ($12.50) or Rib-eye Steak ($13.50) a try.

And maybe a serving of those beansprouts, fingers crossed.

Address: 325 Woodlands Street 32, Singapore 730325
Opening hours: Thursdays to Mondays, 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

ALSO READ: 'Some people said I was crazy': Ex-SIA cabin crew shares why she left Singapore for new life in Canada

amierul@asiaone.com

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.