'They're worried about their livelihood': Elderly couple behind Teck Hin Fishball Noodle looking to reopen stall at new location

Turns out, semi-retirement isn't on the cards yet for the elderly couple behind Teck Hin Fishball Noodle.

AsiaOne had previously reported on Dec 5 last year that the Tans were closing their stall, located at Bukit Timah Food Centre at the time, due to poor business and high overheads.

Their daughter, Eugenia Lim, had indicated that her parents would be exploring turning their business into a home-based one instead.

Since then, however, plans have changed, with the elderly couple in their 70s experiencing a tumultuous journey business-wise.

According to Eugenia, who manages the stall's Facebook page and helps her parents with the back-end parts of their business, plans of going the home-based route fell through because of the high cost involved.

"I calculated the sunk cost to operate a home-based business is about $4,000 to $5,000... sales for a start will not be stable and we will also have to invest in equipment that are of a smaller size. There is no storage space at home for all these," Eugenia told AsiaOne, also expressing that her parents were "fussy" over the type of stove available in a home-based setup.

According to media reports, Teck Hin Fishball Noodle has had a long history since 1975, with 75-year-old Tan Hay Yam and his 70-year-old wife at the helm.

But despite the business challenges faced in recent years, they are not prepared to hang up their aprons yet. The reason? They simply can't afford to, shared Eugenia.

The couple have "depleted their savings" and have had to take loans from family as well, said Eugenia, a homemaker with two children.

Moving from place to place

Following the closure of their Bukit Timah stall in March this year, Eugenia shared that her parents then moved to a coffeeshop in Commonwealth Drive. But business was poor with low footfall and the stall lasted for "about three months", said Eugenia.

"They then made a very hasty decision and placed a deposit at a Toa Payoh coffeeshop," she added.

This stall ended up only opening for three days as "the daily sales was only $100", Eugenia explained.

They shifted again in July to a coffeeshop in Yishun, but that too, shuttered in August, as they were unable to keep up with the rent.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Eugenia stated that she'd belatedly discovered a clause in the contract which stated that the landlord would be able to terminate the contract within a few days if the stallholder is unable to turn in the rent for the month. This led to a dispute between Tan and the landlord.

Eugenia shared that the cost of managing the stall adds up due to her dad's insistence on making the fishballs by hand using fresh fish "which costs $13 per kilo".

"Monthly overheads were easily over $4,000," said Eugenia, totalling the rent as well as the cost of ingredients and condiments.

"And when there's no business they make and then throw them away," she added.

She estimates that since last December, their total losses have amounted to at least $25,000.

"My parents have to continue working as firstly they are worried about their livelihood... secondly, they have been doing this for their entire life and for them to stop work, it would not be advisable [in terms of their brain health and possible degeneration]," said Eugenia.

However, it appears there's some hope on the horizon as a coffeeshop owner in Admiralty had recently reached out to offer her parents a stall.

"The coffeeshop owner was very kind and willing to not take a deposit from us," said Eugenia, adding that they are still in talks with the owner on taking over the stall.

But with limited funds available, Eugenia also has to help her parents with the sourcing of kitchen equipment in "the most economical way" possible.

"It's the cost of the equipment that's holding them back right now," Eugenia told AsiaOne.

She affirmed that in the best-case scenario, the stall would be ready to open in October, but warily added that everything is still not cast in stone.

Eugenia's hope for her parents if they do manage to restart the business is to try and "take things easy", have enough to get by and "not do too much".

"My father die die wants to handmake the fishballs, but I've told him that in this current market, in order to earn money you can't use pure fish because the cost is way too high," said Eugenia.

Past reviews of Teck Hin's fishballs and noodles on Google appear to be largely positive, with many complimenting the stall on their bouncy fishballs.

"The fishball noodles are really the old-school kind... The fishball is soft and bouncy, the mee pok is al dente," wrote one user.

However, another noted that "the owner is well known among diners for being very grumpy".

ALSO READ: Tripled rent, old age prompt retirement for Bukit Merah noodle hawkers 

candicecai@asiaone.com