Owner of popular Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh dies at 72
PHOTO: Facebook/Melvin Chew, Google review/Sungyoon Byun
PUBLISHED ONJuly 11, 2023 5:00 AMByMelissa Teo Fans of the popular Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre will be sad to know that the owner, Toh Sam Hee, has died at age 72.
The obituary was shared by fellow hawker Melvin Chew in a Facebook post on July 10.
Sam Hee passed away on July 10 around midnight and his funeral will be held at Hall 1 of Mandai Crematorium on Friday (July 14). The cause of his death was not mentioned.
In an interview on Sept 17 last year with food platform HappyCat, Sam Hee shared that the decades-old business, which specialises in Hokkien herbal-style bak kut teh, started out as a humble pushcart stall in the 1960s.
He is a second-generation owner and the recipe was passed down to him by his family.
He helmed the stall for around 32 years before passing.
His bak kut teh was so popular that it even won the Michelin Bib Gourmand award from 2016 to 2019.
AsiaOne has reached out to the family for more details but they declined to be interviewed.
Melvin also told AsiaOne that he is unsure if the stall will continue to operate after Sam Hee's death but will let us know if there are any updates.
In the comments, netizens and fellow hawkers conveyed their condolences.
One also remembered Sam Hee to be a "friendly man" who would chat with customers at the stall.
Second-gen owner of HarriAnns dies from colon cancer
On June 14, Harry Tan Kim Song, second-generation owner of hawker stall HarriAnns Nonya Table at Tiong Bahru Food Centre, died of colon cancer and pneumonia.
Fondly known as Uncle Harry to his customers, Harry had been working there full-time, six days a week, right up to March when he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer.
Despite his death, the family has no intention of shuttering their Tiong Bahru stall.
Instead, Harry's wife, Annie Lim, is considering taking over the stall.
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