$1.50.
That’s the price of a Michelin star meal at a street food stall in Singapore.
Fifty-one-year-old Chan Hon Meng is the master chef behind Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and has been perfecting his craft for over 35 years.
His menu features a variety of noodle-dumpling-chicken-pork combinations in line with anything else you’d find at hawker markets around the country. When he received a call from the prestigious food guide and found out he’d been awarded a Michelin star, he couldn’t believe it.
“I asked them, ‘Are you joking? Why would Michelin come to my stall?’,” he says. “I’ve never heard of Michelin inspectors visiting a street stall, can even a hawker be nominated?”
You can imagine the hype the nomination has created. Eager customers now wait in line for hours to get a taste of Meng’s creations, his specialty a dark soya sauce braised chicken soup. He’s now selling 180 chickens a day – 30 more than before the Michelin award – and spends his usual 17 hours in the kitchen.
Reviews online range from “3-hour wait… not so worth it” to “food enthusiasts should try at least once in their lifetime,” the majority of not-so-favourable reviews rolling in over the past few days as his dishes are now served with astronomical expectations.
Given a meal here costs half the price of a Big Mac and people in Toronto line up hours for a piece of cake that’ll never come near a Michelin star, we’d probably consider stopping by if we’re in the area.
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