01/04/2025
🎭 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒’…? 🎭
Wait—is this a prank? Sadly, no. While we’d love to shout "𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒!!" and pretend we’re not closing, the truth is… Lim Bo has officially said goodbye as of 31st March.
This journey over the past three years wasn’t the easiest, but we’re so glad we took the leap. And don’t worry—this isn’t the last you’ll see of us. When and where? That’s a mystery even we can’t answer yet.
𝐀 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮
Before we go, we owe endless gratitude to:
* 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 – You kept us going through the toughest days.�
* 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 – For loving our rendition of Uncle Lim’s Rojak (even at $12 for 3-4 people—yes, we’re looking at you, HardwareZone critics 😉).�
* 𝐋𝐈𝐌 𝐁𝐔 – The real 𝐌𝐕𝐏. While hawkers sacrifice family time, weekends, and holidays, our families sacrifice even more. Mad respect to every hawker’s unsung heroes.�
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐰 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐞𝐫
We entered F&B with naive assumptions—just like many of you.
Here’s what we learned:
🔥 “𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐫 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 "𝐄𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞"�
Some do well (and they earned it), but most are just trying to survive. When costs rise (ingredients, rent, GST), raising prices isn’t greed—it’s survival. Yet customers often see a $1 increase as a “𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐦.”
🍜 𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟐.𝟓𝟎 𝐯𝐬 $𝟔.𝟓𝟎 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞
Older hawkers might keep prices low (by necessity, not choice), but new "𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬" must balance passion with sustainability and make this worth the brutal hours. If the math doesn’t add up, why would anyone choose this over a 9-to-5 with benefits?
💔 “𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞!”�
Would you work 14-hour days, 6 days a week, for passion alone? Skilled hawkers deserve respect—and pay—like any other professional. Until that changes, young talent won’t stick around.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🎤
We’re not complaining—just keeping it real. If Singapore wants hawker culture to last, we need:
�✔ 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧g – So hawkers actually earn a decent living.
�✔ 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 – Higher prices ≠ “scamming.”
�✔ 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭– This is a craft, not charity. Great hawkers are artisans, not just vendors.
To the next generation of hawkers: We hope the system changes for you.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.
𝐋𝐢𝐦 𝐁𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭! …for now. 😉
