Popular 57-year-old hawker stall Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee, to close in Dec 2023
Celest Teo
Wed, 23 August 2023 at 4:00 am GMT+1·2-min read
It is a sad, sad day for wanton mee lovers — the popular Aljunied hawker, Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee, will be closing in Dec 2023, and is looking for a successor to buy the business.
kuongs wan tan mee - storefront
Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee is known for its delicious noodle dishes, char siew and dumplings. This famous business, helmed by Mr Kuong Boon Kong, first began all the way back in the 1950s, when the owner was just 14. Back then, Mr Kuong used to help his older brother push their noodle cart after school, and when he was 16, he began working at a noodle store in Geylang Lorong 12.
Koungs Wan Tan Mee - owner
The stall was unfortunately forced to shut in 1964, following the racial riots that rocked Singapore. Afterwards, Mr Kuong set out to take over the brand and borrowed S$200 to start building his own brand.
For 57 years, Mr Kuong ran Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee, where he doled out bowl after bowl of delicious wanton noodles, dumplings and chargrilled char siew on a daily basis. The brand even produced ready-to-eat packaged meals for sale within selected Cheers outlets, and managed to keep afloat even throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Koungs Wan Tan Mee - dish
Mr Kuong’s daughter explained that the sale of the shophouse that Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee is located in has put the brakes on his career, especially given his old age. The 78-year-old struggles with finding a new spot to restart his business, and his current staff are unfortunately aging and developing medical problems too.
Hence, Mr Kuong is looking to sell his recipes in order to keep the brand alive after his retirement and continue to provide future generations with his authentic wanton mee. In a press release, he stated: “I’m old already. I can no longer work like last time but I still hope my loyal customers can continue to get excellent Kuong’s Wan Tan Mee for a long time to come.”
