Uncle Tan was the eldest child who had to give up pursuing his studies in order to support his younger siblings’ education. This was a familiar narrative of many elder siblings back in the 1960s. For Uncle Tan, his life as a chef began the day he met some Malay makciks in his kampong cooking nasi padang for a wedding. He was 15. He saw how they worked hard together to prepare the aromatic rempah and the delicious food and he wanted to be able to do the same. This became the craft he continued to pursue and sought to perfect, for more than fifty years.
Uncle Tan learned that the preparation of nasi padang is systematic and requires much discipline. The makciks taught him to be particular – the steamed rice is cooked with meticulous steps to ensure that it is fluffy, so that it is a steady companion to the flavourful main dishes like the juicy fried chicken, tender barbecued sotong and rich slow-cooked mutton rendang. The spices have to be well-balanced, and the sambal belacan has to enhance and not overpower. Uncle Tan traded playtime for training and became incredibly humble and hardworking. Till today, he is deeply thankful to his teachers who had taken him in as an apprentice, and taught him his beginning skills to cook nasi padang.
After completing secondary school, Uncle Tan worked in several hotels as a chef. It was in the kitchen where he met and fell in love with Auntie Cheong, who had manned the grill station. Like a mirror of himself, she was conscientious and very reliable. Their self-motivation and shared love for food bonded them; they would encourage and support each other to better their skills.
The couple subsequently got married in 1977, and had two sons. Wanting to provide their young family with a better life, they decided to open their own nasi padang stall in 1983 and it was located at Somerset Eating House (now Somerset Skate Park).
Uncle Tan applied all that he had learnt from the makciks and as a chef in the hotels while Auntie Cheong became all the more his steady companion, as she sharpened her skills in blending sauces, marinating and grilling meats and seafood. They were very thrilled to realise their food attracted loyal patrons, and they responded by working even harder to enhance their dishes and bring new and exciting tastes to their trays.
At the end of 1983, their signature BBQ Chicken was launched. Committedly marinated with 17 spices and always served hot, its savoury aroma was alluring and its adequately charred and crispy skin gave the crunch to its plump, juicy meat. It was easily a favourite, and remains so today.
Due to an increase in rent, Uncle Tan and Auntie Cheong shifted their stall to Block 237 Serangoon Ave 3 in 1989, and officially named it Serangoon Nasi Padang.
Uncle Tan and Auntie Cheong soon roped their sons in to help on weekends and school holidays, teaching them valuable lessons in the process. The boys were taught to clean up after they were done cutting the vegetables or scaling the fish, as to the couple, in whatever they would do, once they begin they must see it to the finish. They were also guided to follow the precise steps of cooking steamed rice.
The family of four would head to the wet market in the wee hours of the morning, prepare the fresh ingredients, cook and serve delicious food to their satisfied customers, wash and pack up the stall at closing, then have a quick supper as a family before going back to their flat to rest.
This stayed as their family’s routine until their sons completed their tertiary education. Their elder son became a teacher, and their younger son joined the navy. Faced with yet another increase in rent, they were pushed to relocate to 150A Bishan St 11 in 2004.
Their sons continued to help on weekends whenever they could, until September 2020, when the couple decided to retire and sell the Serangoon Nasi Padang name to a regular customer.
Soon though, believing they still had more to give with all they have learnt from others, the resilient Uncle Tan and Auntie Cheong responded to the requests from their regular customers to reopen and they returned to the kitchen!
Today, their elder son Eugene joins them in the reiteration of Serangoon Nasi Padang, now named Serangoon BBQ & Curry (SBC). Snug at 22 Sin Ming Road, SBC is still a humble stall seeking to serve yummy food that feels like home… until the next increase in rent.
SBC’s nasi padang is now served with beautifully blue butterfly pea rice (till it sells out), and they grow the bush themselves!
With SBC, Uncle Tan launched SEDAP SETS, an idea he was entertaining during retirement; each set contains a stunning main and two delicious sides.
On the other hand, Eugene started SBC Gives Back, a donation drive to feed the elderly folks living in rented flats in Sin Ming. Encouraged by Uncle Tan and Auntie Cheong who were recipients of help when they lived at Bah Soon Pah and Bukit Merah as children, he aims to pay it forward to the kampong that the family’s stall is now part of. SBC welcomes contribution and Eugene packs and delivers the Sedap Sets to the doors of the uncles and aunties.
Uncle Tan and Auntie Cheong run SBC the way they have approached their food since they had started their stall in 1983 – staying modest and giving their best. Now with their son Eugene, they count each day of being able to serve their food a blessing, and all three of them have never failed to serve their customers with a friendly smile.
