'Old people must have something to do': 78-year-old hawker insists on keeping mee siam stall going after heart bypass surgery

He's gone through a heart bypass surgery, but 78-year-old Lawrence Chua refuses to retire from the local food scene just yet. 

After operating on an on-and-off basis as Lawrence was recuperating his surgery last June, his mee siam stall 96 Kwai Luck Cooked Food is back in action, reported 8days.sg. 

Lawrence's wife and sister had been running the stall under his supervision as he recovered, and he officially resumed his cooking duties last month. 

It's pretty clear that his mee siam is well-loved — when he had to close temporarily, a number of his concerned fans flocked to Facebook food groups like Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 to enquire about his whereabouts. 

And now that business has resumed, they've been showing their support as well and sharing their positive reviews online. 

Lawrence shares that his reason for keeping his stall going isn't due to financial worries. Rather, he simply wants to stay active.

"Once you’re old, you cannot always stay at home lah. You have to do some work. I think it’s better [for our well-being]," he told the lifestyle magazine.

"I'm still fine to run my business, and old people must have something to do — so I'll continue." 

Mee siam with a rich history  

Specialising in only one dish, mee siam, 96 Kwai Luck Cooked Food has been around since 1979.

The business was previously owned by Lawrence's father. Lawrence took over the business in 1993 after his father died, and has been running it ever since. 

While Lawrence says the mee siam here is Chinese-style, the original recipe was actually passed down to Lawrence's father by an Indian hawker.

According to food site SG FoodBuzz, preparations at the stall start from as early as 4am daily and the gravy is prepared from scratch. 

Address: 453A Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, #01-20, Singapore 561453

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