$500,000 for handmade fishball noodle stall with 75-year history at Bukit Merah, recipe and signboard included

Hand-kneading and pinching out 3,000 fishballs at a go is all in a day's work for the hawker who runs Yong Kee Famous Fish Ball Noodle at ABC Brickworks Market.

But that could soon come to an end.

According to Shin Min Daily News the hawker, surnamed Lim, 63, is looking to to retire, after whipping up bowls of springy fishball noodles at the stall for close to 50 years.

Yong Kee Famous Fish Ball Noodle has a 75-year history, which began when Lim's dad started selling the noodles at Havelock Rd.

Lim shared that each bowl of noodles cost just two cents then.

After officially taking over the business in 1975, Lim moved the stall to its current location in Bukit Merah.

Lim told Shin Min Daily News that he began helping out at the stall after dropping out of school at the age 15. And his skills were not just learned from his father, but also secretly picked up from other chefs, Lim revealed.

He is especially proud of the fact that his fishballs are 100 per cent handmade using fresh yellowtail fish — no factory-made fish paste or powders here.

Lim opens his stall at 8am every morning and he would prepare the fishballs in the evenings till about 11pm before closing up. Tuesdays are his only rest days.

It's a tedious process, and Lim shared that with age catching up on him, the rigours of the job have taken its toll.

Making the 3,000 fishballs every day leaves his hands numb and he now experiences body aches, which is why he is considering hanging up his apron.

But what keeps him going is the desire to continue his father's legacy.

Lim shared that he is looking to pass on his fishball-making process and recipe as well the stall's name to a successor — for a fee of course.

He estimated that it would approximately take three months for whoever takes up the offer to learn the ropes.

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The price he has put on the 'package' is a cool $500,000, but Lim added that the amount is negotiable, for the right person.

Turns out, however, that Lim already has a successor in the form of his son, who is also selling fishball noodles under the same name at Alexandra Village Food Centre, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The elder Lim, who also has three daughters, shared that he never did approve of his only son following in his footsteps due to the hard work involved and also because his son is a degree-holder.

Lim added that if the new successor is not willing to share the stall name with his son, then he is open to having the latter change his signboard.

When asked by about his father's decision to sell off the family's fishball recipe and stall name, the 31-year-old told reporters that he is not aware of his father's plans.

However, the younger Lim shared that the stall's brand name is his father's after all, and that he would "go along" with whatever his father wants to do.

candicecai@asiaone.com