At 25, he chose the life of a hawker

PETALING JAYA: At 5am, while most of the Taman Sri Manja neighbourhood is still asleep, Koong Poh Kang is already preparing for the day ahead.

His morning begins with charcoal, char siew and the familiar rhythm of getting a wantan mee stall ready for customers. The roasting alone takes about an hour and a half, but the work starts even earlier, with marination done the night before to give the char siew more flavour.

By 7am, the 25-year-old is ready to serve customers at Kang Kee Wan Tan Mee in Restoran Fai Wong – a business he decided to take over when he was just 23.

“I’m quite happy,” Koong said. “Every day there are different types of situations I have to deal with. But that’s the fun part,” he said.

That happiness, however, comes with sacrifices. Koong has had to give up late nights out with friends, whose work schedules no longer match his own. Once his friends invited him to Genting Highlands in the middle of the night.

“I was quite upset because I couldn’t go,” he said. “I wished I could go, but I couldn’t because my work is really physically demanding.”

Eventually, he stopped dwelling on what he was missing. “After one year of me thinking about it, I was like, I’m just going to continue doing my thing.”

The decision to become a hawker came somewhat naturally to Koong. The second-oldest of five siblings, he helped his mother with her bak kut teh business during his primary school days.

In fact, becoming a hawker was his choice of career when his teacher asked his class what they wanted to be when they grew up. “I got laughed at,” he recalled. “At the time, I didn’t really understand why.”

He eventually obtained an IT degree and worked a corporate job. But at 23, he began considering a different future when an opportunity came up: the owner of a wantan mee stall in his neighbourhood wanted to retire.

For Koong, it was an opportunity that combined familiarity with something he genuinely loved. “My favourite food as a child was wantan mee,” he said. “My parents used to bring us to this wantan mee stall in Old Klang Road. It was very good.”

Taking over the business still required him to prove that he could do the work. He spent six months learning from the previous owner without an income, picking up everything from preparing the ingredients to cooking the char siew.

FMT Lifestyle got to try Koong’s wantan mee, and honestly, this simple and humble dish hits all the nostalgic and culinary spots. The noodles are springy, the char siew sweet and tender, and the sauce is slightly peppery, making for a satisfying meal perfect for breakfast or lunch.

But there is a deeper reason Koong wanted to make the business work. Growing up, he watched his mother work hard to raise five children. She ran her bak kut teh business at the same kopitiam of his wantan mee stall for more than 10 years, and Koong remembers how stressful it was for her.

“I was like, okay, I’m going to help her retire as soon as possible,” he said. His mother has since moved from selling bak kut teh to selling pao, which Koong considers less demanding.

Ironically, although his workday starts much earlier than a typical office job, Koong now feels he has more time for himself. “After selling my wantan mee till 3pm, I have time to rest and go to the gym.”

Still, Koong is careful not to present his experience as a blueprint for other young people. His advice to those thinking of starting their own business is straightforward.

“Don’t be so hasty,” he said. “You need to do a lot of research first.”

For Koong, knowing the neighbourhood, understanding its customers and having a personal connection to wantan mee gave him the confidence to take the leap.

At 25, he is now doing the job that once got him laughed at – and finding that there is more to being a hawker than he ever expected.

Follow Koong Poh Kang on Instagram.

Kang Kee Wan Tan Mee (NON-HALAL)
2, Jalan PJS 3/48,
Taman Sri Manja,
46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Business hours: 7am-2pm (closed on Wednesdays)

For location, click here.

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