Former Air Force engineer opens Hainanese-style beef noodles stall in Yishun

After devoting 25 years to the aviation industry, former Air Force engineer Jerry Loh, 45, quit his job to pursue something entirely different – becoming a beef noodle hawker. 

He set up the Hainanese-style 838 Beef Noodles at Yishun Park Hawker Centre in 2023, a year after he left his job. Prior to this, he had spent 11 years in the Singapore Armed Forces, and another 14 years as an aviation engineer in the private sector, where he was deployed to Brunei. 

It was during his seven-year Brunei stint that Loh got inspired to set up his own hawker business. “I was watching Kym Ng’s show Old Taste Detective and [CNA docu-series] Belly Of A Nation, and it inspired me to come back and try to start a hawker biz since I love cooking and I think I can cook well,” he says. 

Loh adds that he “always had a passion for cooking”, and picked up some skills from his late mum who used to work as a chicken rice hawker. However, he chose to sell Hainanese beef noodles as he says: “I love beef noodles, and it’s one of the local delicacies that is less preserved now.”

Although he isn’t Hainanese, he tells us that his mum got most of her recipes from a Hainanese cook, including the beef noodles that Loh is now using after some adjustments. 

FROM AN ENGINEER TO A HAWKER

But was it worth it to give up his stable, comfy job to rough it out at his own business? Loh doesn’t hesitate to say “yes”. 

Though he liked his previous career, he shares: “It had already been on my mind that I wanted a change in career, even during my seven years in Brunei, and I had always wanted to start my own business”.

“Everybody knows that in the F&B biz, the environment is very hot and the hours are long. But I still prefer cooking as my main career now,” he says jovially, adding that he “wants to preserve the ‘old taste’ of hawker food in Singapore, ‘cause the nostalgic flavours are almost lost”. 

His years of experience in the workforce also helped him adapt quickly to the job switch. In his previous career as an engineer, Loh was always problem-solving. “In that job, there’s always different situations that would arise, so we need to be diagnostic. And when situations change, we need to be able to adapt fast so that we can solve the issue,” he explains. 

Loh also notes that it is important “to always listen to feedback, and not be proud”. He recalls that on the first day he opened his stall last year, customers told him that his “soup tastes like water”. He immediately took steps to improve his broth, so much so that his customers now praise him for his broth’s flavour. 

While he declines to reveal much about the contents of his secret recipe, he tells us that he simmers his broth with beef bones, ginger and spices for days on end. He says: “I add ingredients and water every day to continue cooking the stock so that it’s flavourful.”

TOOK A S$7,000 PAY CUT

Loh invested a total of S$20,000 into setting up 838 Beef Noodles, but took a huge pay cut of around S$7,000 at the start to get his business on track. “No risk, no gain,” he laughs.

As an engineer, he was drawing a salary of around S$8,000 a month, but his income dipped to about S$1,000 to S$2,000 a month when he started his stall. 

He was unfazed by his initial salary plunge, as he explains: “I wouldn’t consider this a pay cut, ‘cause a business is a business, and career pay is career pay.” He was also hopeful that his hard work will pay off, as he reckons: “A business is an investment, so you should wait for the ROI (return on investment).”  

Luckily for him, he managed to recoup his S$20,000 investment after around three months, and is now earning a take-home salary that’s about the same as his previous S$8,000 pay.

“It's about there, but this is a business, so sometimes more, sometimes less. It varies. But one thing is for sure: I’m much happier now with my work and personal life,” says Loh.

THE MENU

838 Beef Noodles offers five noodle dishes in total, in both soup and dry variations: Beef slice (S$6.20), beef honeycomb tripe (S$6.80), beef tendon (S$6.80), beef ball (S$6.20) and beef combination (S$9.20). All dishes come with your choice of either thick bee hoon or kway teow. 

Loh also sells braised beef brisket and tendon with rice (S$8.80), and recently added mutton soup (from S$8) to his menu. 

8days samples the dry beef slice noodles and soup beef combination noodles, which Loh says are two of his most popular offerings. Both dishes were served with cincalok, house-made chilli sauce and calamansi.

DRY BEEF SLICE NOODLES WITH THICK BEE HOON, S$6.20 [8DAYS PICK!]

One of the best parts of eating Hainanese beef noodles is slurping up its sultry gravy. Loh’s version is thick, rich and garlicky, with a toasty hint of ginger and sesame oil. 

It drapes the silky thick bee hoon and tender, lightly blanched slices of still-pink beef. Strands of taugeh and coriander sprigs provide more crunch and flavour. It’s easy to hoover the entire decadent bowl by ourselves. 

BEEF COMBINATION SOUP WITH KWAY TEOW, S$9.20

The beef combination bowl gets you more toppings – beef slices, chewy tendon, shin, tripe and beef balls that are all fresh and not gamey.

We ordered a soup noodle version for this, with the ingredients drenched in a clean-tasting beef broth. Comforting enough, but we prefer the more flavourful dry noodles.

BOTTOM LINE

If you’re hankering for traditional Hainanese beef noodles, ex-engineer Loh serves a good version of it at his 838 Beef Noodles stall.

He shares that his mutton soup has been gaining popularity lately (it was sold out on the day we dropped by), so best head down early if you want to try it.

838 Beef Noodles is at #01-42 Yishun Park Hawker Centre, 51 Yishun Ave 11, Singapore 768867. Open daily except Tues, 11.30am-2.30pm; 5pm-8.30pm. 

This story was originally published in 8Days.