Rolina curry puff reopens with 23-year-old daughter, an ex-restaurant chef, in charge

After closing for eight months, award-winning Rolina Traditional Hainanese Curry Puff, run by owner Bren Tham is up and running. The only difference is, it's Bren's 23-year-old daughter who's now at the helm.

48-year-old Bren had fallen ill from being overworked earlier this year in January, which resulted in him closing the stall at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre to recuperate, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The stall, known for its handmade curry and sardine puffs, was awarded its first Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2018, but dropped out of the list in subsequent years.

While discussing the fate of the business, Bren's daughter Jolene, 23, voiced her interest in keeping the 65-year-old business going.

Jolene had graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in business and was working at Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse when her father fell sick. She quit her job to care for him.

She told Shin Min that it was then that she considered taking over her dad's business. After all, she shared that she had been helping at the stall since she was 16, and has honed her skills in the kitchen with her work experience.

"I had the confidence that I could bring the family business to the next level," Jolene shared. 

Bren, the stall's second-generation owner, interjected that he has since cut himself off from the business completely and has even transferred ownership of the stall to Jolene.

"The Gen Z are different from those of our generation. I prefer Jolene to do this and experience the ups and downs of business for herself, and learn from the successes and failures," he stated.

Overcoming obstacles 

But she isn't going at it completely alone. Jolene has the help of her 23-year-old fiance Guan Wei Lun (transliteration), who quit his job as a car salesman to join her in running the stall.

Wei Lun admitted that he had a hard time adjusting to the punishing schedule of a hawker.

"Besides having to wake up at 3am to prepare everything, the production process is cumbersome and requires a lot of effort," said Wei Lun. However, he added that seeing the customers' smiles after tasting their curry puffs makes it all worth it.

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He has even joked about how happy he is since becoming a hawker, as it has enabled him to lose 6kg in the process which is "more effective than any diet".

Jolene revealed that when she took over the stall at the start, keeping up with production was a challenge that left her in tears almost every day.

Now, she is able to churn out 300 curry puffs daily and believes the number can increase even more.

"Whenever I feel like giving up, I'll think about the kind greetings from regular customers who are there at the crack of dawn. It is also my motivation to continue the legacy, passing down the traditional taste of our curry puffs."

Jolene shared that Rolina had previously been featured in the Australian cooking programme, Destination Flavour. Because of this, an Australian tourist who visited Singapore two weeks ago came almost every day to buy their puffs, and even promised to patronise the stall the next time they are here.

Rolina Traditional Hainanese Curry Puff
Address: Block 6, Tanjong Pagar Plz, #02-15 Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre S081006.
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 6am to 2pm

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candicecai@asiaone.com