PUBLISHED ONJuly 19, 2022 4:59 AMByAmierul RashidAh Tee Ko Ko Mee has been selling authentic Teochew fishball noodles since the pushcart era of the 1960s. Roughly 60 years later, the food business has quietly closed down.
For those of you who don't know, Ko Ko Mee isn't a specific type of dish. "Ko Ko" actually refers to the sound made by pushcart hawkers from yesteryears who would knock two bamboo sticks together in order to inform customers of their arrival.
Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee's most recent location was at Gourmet Street at Jalan Berseh and Monday (July 18) was the hawker stall's final day of operations.
This news was relayed to members of the Facebook group Can Eat! Hawker Food by a loyal customer Angie Chen later that day.
Just last week, the 75-year-old stallholder, Sim Ah Tee, had told her: "I think I will close my shop already because my feet cannot take it anymore and the finances are just not worth it for me to continue on."
"This kind of work is so hard. Who want [sic] to do?"
Angie wrote that tears were forming in the hawker's eyes as he shared this with her. On July 18, it was her turn to tear up after finding out it was Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee's last day of operations.
The elderly man explained to Angie that his health has deteriorated and the business could not keep up with the rising costs any longer.
Upon hearing this, she knew she just had to order his noodles one last time.
"He did not even want to collect my money for this last order," she wrote.
She is a massive supporter of the his stall as he uses homemade lard and chilli, and cooks the noodles perfectly, Angie added.
She also shared how, over the years, the two of them built a rather special relationship as she got to know him better as a person.
When the pair took a final photo together for memories' sake, it seemed like no one could break into a smile, and Angie was unable to control her tears.
While some famous hawkers receive a final wave of customers when people hear that their shop is closing down, this experience isn't universal.
Some stalls, like Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee, fade away without their most loyal customers knowing.
"Cherish all the food you love and the people that cook it, because not all of them are fortunate enough to find successors or have people buy over their businesses," Angie wrote.
In May 2021, Ah Tee's son Calvin Sim had posted about the stall on the Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020. He shared that Ah Tee is illiterate and hoped that more people would come down to try Ah Tee's authentic noodles and support the business.
Another famous noodle stall which quietly closed down recently is Zhong Guo Jie Ri Shi, more commonly known as China Street Rickshaw Noodles.
Located at Maxwell Food Centre, the stall was known for selling noodles for just a dollar.
