Third-gen hawker quit his engineering job to continue family's 50-year-old stall, earns Bib Gourmand 2023

Foodies rejoice!

The Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand 2023 list is out, and Singapore boasts 79 eateries worthy of the title. The number is up from 67 last year — with 19 new eateries being awarded — giving us all plenty to dig into.

Warong Pak Sapari is one such newcomer to the list.

Situated at Adam Road Food Centre, the stall has been in operation since 1973 and is currently run by its third-generation owner, Sumadi Sapari.

"Our specialty is mee rebus and mee soto, a mix of Singapore and Indonesia[n cuisines]," he told Bestfoody, a YouTube food channel, in 2018. "We want to make the food more authentic, [and the recipe] was passed down from my grandfather, to my father and to me."

Sumadi added that he tries his best not to "fusion the food" as it is part of his heritage.

"Although it's been passed down for generations, it can still be consumed until now," he added. "The food won't be lost in time."

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Sumadi also mentioned that it was his passion and desire to continue the legacy of his family that made him quit his job as an engineer in 2014 to take over the stall.

Speaking with The Straits Times on Thursday (June 15), he shared that the business is "always finding new ways of elevating the product. My staff will post on TikTok and it gets us younger customers".

And since news of earning the Bib Gourmand, Sumadi said that he has seen an increase in customers at the stall. “Now we have to maintain our place in the Bib Gourmand.”

Warong Pak Sapari opens from 8am to 4pm daily except Fridays, though Google reviewers warn that queues can be long and some food items can be sold out by lunchtime.

One reviewer added that the bergedil can also run out by 11am.

70 per cent pay cut to run family's restaurant

Much like Sapari, the Chew brothers — Lincoln, Dave and Ken — also quit well-paying jobs to take over their family business and became third-generation owners of Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant.

All three brothers worked in the sales department of the same bank for five years, bringing in monthly salaries of about $10,000 each, until they told their boss they were going to quit "to sell chicken rice".

"Our boss thought we were being poached by another bank but didn't want to admit it so we had to use that as an excuse," they shared.

Despite taking a pay cut of up to 70 per cent, the brothers felt they "had to do it".

"This restaurant harbours all the memories of our childhood," Dave added.

Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari
Address: 2 Adam Rd, Singapore 289876
Opening hours: Opens daily except Fridays from 8am to 4pm

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drimac@asiaone.com

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