Japanese-Singaporean couple spend $20k to open authentic tonkatsu stall, build kitchen with secondhand equipment from Carousell

Many Singaporeans love all things Japan, so it's unsurprising that there are a plethora of Japanese eateries and supermarkets dotted around our tiny island. 

Despite this, some Japanese nationals living here still struggle to find affordable, authentic food similar to what they can get at home. 

One of them is Mayu Tanabe, 32, who moved to Singapore last October with her Singaporean husband, Daniel Guo, 46, and their two children. 

While she does enjoy our local food, she found herself missing dishes she grew up eating, such as curry and pork cutlets. 

And though there are places that sell these in Singapore, they tend to be on the pricier side. 

So, she and Daniel decided to set up a hawker stall at Berseh Food Centre called Tsuzuku, selling authentic, wallet-friendly Japanese dishes. 

This is a pretty bold move, considering that neither of them had any prior F&B experience. 

Nonetheless, it seems like the risk has paid off because when AsiaOne visited them on a warm Monday afternoon, the couple had a few customers despite it being off-peak hours. 

And though they've only been there for a little over a month since they first opened on July 20, Daniel told us that they already have a few regulars. 

"Hopefully, they remain our repeat customers," he said with a smile. 

The pandemic made them cook more 

Prior to coming back to Singapore, Daniel lived and worked in Japan for 15 years and met Mayu in 2013 via mutual friends. 

When Covid-19 struck in 2020, Daniel, who worked in human resources, quit his stable full-time job and moved his family from Tokyo to Yamanashi to tide over the pandemic. 

They didn't expect it to stretch out across three years. 

"I thought it would just blow over quickly like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), around half a year," Daniel explained. 

During this entire period, neither Daniel nor Mayu worked and relied entirely on their savings. 

Because of the pesky dine-out restrictions in Japan, the couple found themselves cooking more than usual and in turn, this also helped them save some money. 

The bulk of their recipes were inspired by food they often had when they ate out in Japan, as well as what one would normally find in a Japanese bento box. 

After the pandemic was over, they thought that it would be good to give their two children, especially the older one, more exposure to the real world. 

"My son grew up isolated. He had no friends and had not been to a nursery, he only knew us," revealed Daniel.

"So we thought that it's better to go to a place where there are a bit more people for him to interact with and where he can actually learn a bit more language. So, I thought, maybe it's time to come back to Singapore." 

But to make sure that this was an ideal setup for the family, they came to Singapore for a few months in February 2022 for a "trial" period. 

After deciding that it was the right decision, they went back to Japan around May 2022 and eventually moved to Singapore last October. 

Authentic Japanese food in Singapore isn't cheap 

After settling down in Singapore, Daniel considered getting a full-time job and even secured a few interview opportunities. 

But the idea of being chained to a desk-bound job didn't sit well with him. 

At the same time, Mayu was having difficulties finding authentic Japanese food that was similar to what she had back home. 

To try and satisfy her cravings, the couple visited numerous Japanese eateries at various price points across Singapore, including coffee shops and restaurants. 

But these didn't scratch her Japanese food itch. 

Apart from that, they were also horrified that some places had the audacity of lumping both Japanese and Korean cuisines together. 

"They're actually very different food. Why are they together?" Daniel wondered out loud. 

While there were some relatively authentic options, these were not always the most pocket-friendly. 

"We tried the more expensive places. They're nice but more pricey," recounted Daniel, adding that one set of tonkatsu at Japanese restaurant Saboten set him back by over $30. 

That was when Daniel got the idea of setting up his own Japanese food eatery. 

"I thought that maybe I should do something. Because I like Japanese food, Mayu wants to eat it, and we cannot find something that we are able to afford or like," he said.  

Setting up shop and the difficulties that came with it

Initially, the couple considered doing a small takeaway kiosk in a mall, but realised this wasn't a feasible idea because of cost and flexibility. 

So, they decided to open a hawker stall. 

"It is not as restrictive and financially, we are more able to afford it," explained Daniel. 

While it wasn't hard to procure one, the couple wanted the stall to be in a good location.

So, they invested lots of time and effort researching different hawker centres like Golden Mile Food Centre and Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre. 

In fact, with their two kids in tow, they would camp at various hawker centres and manually count the number of customers patronising the stalls there in an hour. This was to get a gauge of what the footfall in that particular hawker centre was like. 

The search for the perfect stall took a few months and they eventually settled on their current unit at Berseh Food Centre, which was officially handed over to them earlier in April this year. 

A good location wasn't the only crucial factor they had to consider — the quality of ingredients was important too. 

So, they sourced various suppliers that specialised in Japanese food. 

This was not as easy as they hoped it would be. 

"The suppliers were not very friendly," confessed Daniel, adding that some of them ghosted him, while others simply didn't reply. 

They also had issues sourcing kitchen equipment, which was another ordeal in itself. 

Once again, they came across multiple rude or unreliable vendors, some who tried to hard sell items to him. 

One of them even arranged an appointment with Daniel but didn't turn up, leaving him waiting for over an hour. 

And when Daniel called him to check on his estimated time of arrival, the vendor had the audacity to ask him: "Who are you?" 

After dealing with so many irresponsible vendors, Daniel took things into his own hands by designing and building his kitchen from scratch. 

He did so by sourcing secondhand equipment from online sources like Carousell, which also ended up helping him cut down on costs. 

After measuring and organising the kitchen layout by himself, he arranged the equipment in a configuration that he felt worked best for him. 

In total, he and Mayu pumped around $20,000 into the business. 

"If we had bought the equipment brand new, I think we would have forked out $50,000 for the business instead," revealed Daniel.

Another challenge the couple faced was explaining their various menu items to customers unfamiliar with Japanese food. 

"Many of them did not really understand what we were selling, it was quite difficult for us to describe the food to them," shared Daniel. 

To solve this, he would cook various dishes and have them on display on the counter so customers could have a visual idea of their food. 

But this in turn resulted in plenty of wasted food. 

Now, Daniel is trying to learn how to take nice photographs of his food so diners can know what they're eating, minus the waste. 

"A picture tells a thousand words," he quoted wisely. 

As of now, however, business hasn't been that steady.

"I cannot say it's fantastic. When it's good, it's good. When it's bad, it's bad," shared Daniel. 

But he and Mayu are not giving up just yet. 

He also has some wise words for aspiring hawkers. 

"It's really difficult to start any business, not just a hawker one. It comes with its own difficulties and own joys. My advice would be to rough it out for a few years and see how far you can go." 

As good as what you can get in Japan 

Of course, I had to try their tonkatsu for myself. 

As someone who travels to Japan quite frequently, I've had my own fair share of authentic tonkatsu and wanted to see if Daniel and Mayu's offerings were of the same standard. 

And I am pleased to say that it was. 

While the couple take pride in all their menu items, they especially recommended the curry and tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet). 

So, I got the Curry Katsu Set ($8.80). 

This came with a beautiful golden brown tonkatsu that had been neatly sliced up, two fried ebi (breaded shrimp), and a generous serving of creamy Japanese curry. On the side, I was also given a salad. 

The breading of the shrimp and pork was excellently done and when I ran a fork down the proteins, they let out a satisfying crackling sound. I also appreciate how these weren't drenched in oil despite just coming out fresh from the fryer. 

And while a leaner cut of pork was used, the meat still turned out extremely tender and juicy, which is quite hard to achieve when deep-frying is involved. 

While you can opt for sets without the curry, I highly recommend pairing your tonkatsu with it because it really helped to elevate the dish with its subtle spiciness. 

The couple also generously let me try their Minced Katsu ($5.80), which is a combination of ground beef and pork. 

This is actually my first time trying something like this and I was pleasantly surprised by it. 

The beef and pork combination work really well and as it is all minced together, the entire texture was softer and grainier as compared to the tonkatsu. Extremely palatable and a good option for kids, I feel. 

I also had a sample of the Crab Cream Croquette ($6.80 for three pieces) and Potato Croquette ($5.80 for three pieces). Daniel told me that these two are some of the few dishes that aren't handmade by them.

Despite that, he and Mayu went through several taste tests to find the perfect croquettes and upon tasting these, I can't help but agree.

Similar to the Minced Katsu and Tonkatsu, these had a lovely crispy exterior. Break this apart and the potato or crab cream filling will slowly ooze out. Very Instagram-worthy, I must say. 

Taste-wise, these were fantastic too and in all honestly, if no one had told me that these weren't handmade, I wouldn't have guessed. 

As of now, their menu consists mostly of fried foods, but the couple are still in the midst of perfecting their lineup and hope to add more dishes soon.

Address: 166 Jln Besar, #02-33 Berseh Food Centre, Singapore 208877
Opening hours: Mondays to Saturday, 11am to 8pm or when food sells out 

ALSO READ: These young chefs quit restaurant jobs to open hawker stall selling grilled meats, pumped $25k into business

melissateo@asiaone.com 

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