PUBLISHED ONApril 03, 2025 5:09 AMByKhoo Yi-HangCraving for Hokkien mee, a cancer-stricken man had sought help from netizens online to purchase the dish for him, delivering it to his doorstep.
Unfortunately, the 45-year-old man died last Wednesday (March 26), Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday. He had battled pancreatic cancer for at least five years.
A day after his death, users on the Facebook group he frequented mourned his passing.
User Leong Gwo Wei shared a eulogy dedicated to the man, Anthony Lee, in the Hokkien Mee Hunting Facebook group, remembering his time with Lee.
"Though I didn't get to know him long enough, I admire and salute his strength to fight on for his wife and daughter, and enjoying good food was something that kept him going," wrote Leong, who was one of the netizens who assisted Lee in obtaining his beloved Hokkien mee.
"I was glad to have the chance to bring him some Hokkien mee," the 42-year-old added.
In a separate post on March 29, Leong indicated that he had also delivered a packet of Hokkien mee to Lee's wake to pay his last respects.
Speaking with AsiaOne, Leong said that when he first saw Lee's post on Facebook, he didn't think too much of it.
"I just saw that he actually needed help, so I thought, 'Okay, why not?'" Leong said.
He did empathise with Lee, however, and expressed that he would also need something in his life to "help him fight on".
"For him, that was food," Leong stated, adding that he could relate as well.
Leong only ever met Lee once, which was during the first delivery of Hokkien mee.
Dropping the noodles off with Lee, Leong spoke briefly with him, noticing that Lee appeared physically weak.
"He gave me the impression that he was very strong… despite his weak appearance, he wasn't showing signs of giving up," Leong recalled.
They kept in touch via social media, where Leong would occasionally ask if Lee was up for noodles. If he was, Leong would drop noodles off at Lee's place without a face-to-face meeting.
Every now and then, Lee would lovingly talk about his daughter, and the overall image he presented was that he was "determined to fight on", Leong said.
Leong also told AsiaOne that he had continued to help Lee because it was expected and a 'no brainer' for him, not just out of kindness, but also because Lee wanted to keep battling cancer.
To that end, he delivered Hokkien mee to Lee three times - the last time being at the hospital.
He had also offered to deliver to Lee on other occasions, but the latter didn't have the appetite for it.
Through the months Leong got to know Lee, he didn't notice any changes in his character, although Lee did share some of his concerns with Leong.
At Lee's wake, Leong got to speak with the deceased's brother, who shared with him that Lee had gotten "a little bit confused" in his last two weeks.
"But even so, he would tell his brother every night that he wants to fight on," Leong said.
Speaking of his experience with Lee, Leong said that his strength to carry on left a lasting impression on him and taught him a lesson that he will pass on to his children.
"We're all healthy and we have choices - who are we to say that we want to give up on things when people that are actually suffering don't even give up?"
Lee's story first garnered attention with a post to the group in December last year, where he plainly stated: "I can hardly leave my home due to my terminal cancer and always get offered only one (option for Hokkien mee) in Grab. Are there any good ones near Clementi?"
His post was met with an outpouring of support from netizens, with many offering to buy and deliver the dish to him.
Lee would go on to make requests for Hokkien mee a couple more times through the month of December, providing updates on his personal life and health.
On a Dec 16 post by Lee, a user raised concerns about the former's wellbeing and questioned his decision to eat Hokkien mee.
In response, Lee said: "I have been advised to do anything and eat anything I want…. No one except God knows how much time I have left."
According to him, he had not eaten any of his favourite food items for the past five years.
It was also through this post that Leong first began helping Lee get his Hokkien mee fix.
Leong and other netizens weren't the only ones who decided to help Lee fulfil his craving for the dish.
Lee shared in a post on Dec 31 that on Christmas day, he had received three home-cooked servings of the delectable noodles — for himself, his wife and his daughter — from an aspiring chef.
The good Samaritan had reached out to him a week prior, offering to cook and deliver the food to Lee, refusing payment and seeking only feedback.
"I am not a connoisseur nor possess special taste buds," Lee commented in his post.
"I am a terminal cancer patient who has poor appetite and a love for food but having challenges in digestion as well. But I ate his noodles with great relish."
Lee also received Hokkien mee from the Original Simon Road Hokkien Mee branch in Jurong East, according to a post he made on Jan 8.
He thoroughly enjoyed the dish prepared for him, adding that he hoped to try more in days to come.
Lee's final post to the Facebook group was a sobering update wherein he shared that blood test results had returned "bad".
"I am not doing well both physically and (mentally) after receiving such shocking news," he admitted, going on to request a specifically customised Hokkien mee from members of the group.
However, a netizen found his customisation request a bit too picky, feeling that Lee should have other priorities instead of the meal.
Lee replied, sharing insight into his life: "I hardly have the appetite to eat daily … Even if I happen to be able to eat, it does not turn out favourably."
"And being already terminal, having tremendous challenges even to travel for some of these nice Hokkien mee... I hope you understand, if not now, when?" Lee added, stating that he does not request for free food and pays for the meals delivered to him.
He also expressed his belief that his terminal illness doesn't mean that he has to wallow in misery all the time.
"If my request for a nice self-paid Hokkien mee to help cope with a difficult day offends you, I apologise," he added.
AsiaOne has also attempted to reach out to Lee's family via his Facebook account.
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