Ex-footballers’ halal chee cheong fun stall sees boost in business after PM Wong’s visit

A humble halal chee cheong fun stall in Tampines is getting an unexpected boost in business after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong dropped by and gave it his seal of approval.

“The sauce is good, very nice!” he said in a video posted on his official Instagram account on Apr 18, putting the low-key stall called Halal Chee Cheong Fun on the radar of foodies. Mr Wong also asked the owners how they got the business started. 

The stall at a coffeeshop at Block 138 Tampines Street 11 is run by former Singapore Premier League footballers Muhammad Nurullah Mohamed Hussein, 33, and Mohammad Hazzuwan Mohd Halim, 32.

When asked how they felt about the newfound publicity, the duo said it was a surprise. “It was a shock that he came down to visit our stall. It was really nice talking to him and we truly are honoured,” they told 8days.sg.

“To be honest, we have no idea why he came down – maybe to visit all the hawker vendors in the area,” Muhammad Nurullah added.

Mr Wong spent about 10 minutes at the stall, where he tried their Original Chee Cheong Fun (S$5) – silky rice noodle rolls drizzled with a signature sauce made with dried shrimp paste, sesame oil and sesame seeds along with other ingredients.

“When we got positive feedback from him, we felt very grateful and touched. He gave us the motivation to continue improving and maintain the quality of our food,” he said.

Since the visit, the stall has seen an uptick in business. According to Muhammad Nurullah, both new and returning customers have been dropping by after seeing the video.

Before entering the F&B world, both partners were professional footballers who played together at Balestier Khalsa and have been friends for over a decade. Muhammad Nurullah retired in 2020, while Mohammad Hazzuwan hung up his boots in 2025.

Between them, they’ve played for clubs like Geylang International and Hougang United, with Mohammad Hazzuwan also winning the S-League’s Best Young Player award in 2017.

He began helping out at the stall while still playing professionally, after Muhammad Nurullah asked if he’d be keen to join and help grow the business. He would come by after his morning training sessions before eventually transitioning fully into hawker life in 2025.

“My mother-in-law always made chee cheong fun for my family to makan, and I realised it was different from the usual Chinese-style ones,” said Muhammad Nurullah.

His version leans towards the sweeter, thicker-sauced Singapore-style chee cheong fun, and is positioned as fully halal.

However, there’s a twist: instead of the usual mix of soya-based sauces or sambal, it’s built around a single house-made spicy-sweet sauce finished with cili padi.

“The sauce is the main thing. I can say there is dried shrimp paste, sesame oil and sesame seeds – the rest I’d rather not mention,” he added with a laugh, noting that it’s part of his “secret” recipe.

That sparked an idea, as he told his wife – then his fiancee – that after they got married, they should try selling it. They kicked things off as a home-based business in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, when football training was paused.

“The response then was quite good, even though we were only selling the original chee cheong fun,” he recalled.

When his football contract ended later that year, Muhammad Nurullah decided to take a leap of faith and opened his first stall in January 2021. “I told my wife, let’s just open a stall and take the risk. I had zero experience in other professions as my first full-time job since I was 19 was playing soccer,” he shared.

He said the transition from football wasn’t difficult, but required a mindset shift. “As a footballer, whether you perform or not, you still get a salary. But as a hawker, nothing is certain, you have to give your best every day and be grateful for whatever sales you get.”

Having spent his entire career in football, he admits he never had a backup plan. “I’m grateful I met my wife and learnt this recipe,” he shared.

“Many players don’t prepare for life after football, so the nearest path is coaching,” he says, adding that he never had the inclination to go into coaching.

The early days weren’t easy.

“For the first few months, it was quiet. Not many people knew about us and I didn’t market the product well,” he said, adding that his initial quiet Kaki Bukit location was also less than ideal.

After moving to his current stall and nearly a year of struggling, he sought help from Abdul Malik Hassan, founder of nasi lemak chain Crave, who had visited his stall as a customer.

“He taught me about business structure and detailed costing,” said Muhammad Nurullah. Within months, business picked up. “After that, things really started to boom,” he added.

Today, the stall offers a range of options, including Original Chee Cheong Fun (S$5), Prawn Chee Cheong Fun (S$6.50) and Roasted Chicken Chee Cheong Fun (S$7.50), alongside sides like Tiger Prawn Rolls (S$6.50).

The prawn version features rice rolls stuffed with prawns, while the roasted chicken option comes topped with slices of chicken laid over the rice rolls and doused in their signature sauce – a halal alternative to the char siew commonly found in traditional versions.

The rice noodle rolls are delivered fresh daily by a supplier, while Muhammad Nurullah prepares the sauce and handles operations. Mohammad Hazzuwan oversees marketing, including TikTok live sessions where they sell it online, though both are at the stall daily serving customers.

For those who want to try everything in one go, they’ve also introduced a S$52 “Ambeng” chee cheong fun platter (feeds five people) – inspired by the communal sharing dish nasi ambeng, which typically features a variety of dishes like beef rendang on one tray. Instead of rice, this version pairs chee cheong fun rolls with original, prawn and roasted chicken, plus tiger prawn rolls on one large plate.

The stall’s growing popularity has also led to some surprising requests. One returning customer from Malaysia even ordered 15 portions of prawn chee cheong fun and paid a driver RM700 (S$225) to have it delivered from Tampines to Kuala Lumpur.

“I was like, wow, even someone in KL wanted to eat my chee cheong fun,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the growing attention, Muhammad Nurullah says his motivation remains grounded in family.

“What keeps me going is my family,” he told 8days.sg, adding that both he and Mohammad Hazzuwan have three children each.

While expansion is on the cards – including a possible second outlet or even one in Kuala Lumpur – he’s taking a cautious approach.

“Right now, I want to focus on this stall because of the current economic situation, rent and overhead costs.”

More importantly, he says profit isn’t the main driver, though the business has been able to support both their families over the years.

“My main purpose is not money. The important thing is sincerity, quality and taking care of customers. If you do that, the customers will [automatically] come,” he shared.

Halal Chee Cheong Fun is at Kim San Leng Kopitiam, 138 Tampines St 11, Singapore 521136. Open Wed to Sun, 1pm to 6pm (Fri from 2.45pm). More info via Instagram.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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