Hawker behind beef noodle chain Horiginal plans to close outlets and focus on new prawn mee stall

A few years ago, 8days visited beef noodle stall Horiginal, which has a more herbal taste profile and wide variety of beef cuts. The stall opened to long queues back then, but with COVID-19 lockdowns and an eventual decline in customers, owner Michael Ho, 49, told 8days that “the whole venture was a loss”. A whopping “six-figure loss” – but he declined to share the exact figure. 

Now, he has set his hopes on a new concept – Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle, his first foray into selling prawn mee. He opened the stall on May 22 at Sixth Cafelink, a coffee shop in Sixth Avenue. 

WHY PRAWN NOODLES?

Ho explained: “Good prawn noodles are not commonly available, and once this is established, it will be much easier for operators like me to open in coffeeshops, since not all coffeeshops have prawn noodles.” 

Prior to opening Horiginal and Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn, Ho owned mee pok business, Hosay Mee Pok, which he handed over to his partner in 2020. All Hosay outlets have since been shut down. Before that, the towkay also used to own a fish ball factory, but closed it down in 2019 before opening Hosay Mee Pok. 

ALL REMAINING HORIGINAL OUTLETS SLATED TO CLOSE BY 2025

At its peak, Horiginal had nine outlets. It now has four remaining outlets at Telok Blangah, ⁠Hougang, ⁠West Mall and ⁠Jurong – and all their leases are set to expire next year. Unless business picks up, Ho said he doesn’t plan to renew the leases.

He attributed the lack in business to poor footfall due to COVID-19 lockdowns back then, plus a generally lower demand for beef noodles.

“If you ask me, the people who ate the beef noodles would come back, so our response was quite good. But the market for beef noodles is quite small, and we are selling ours at a very competitive price of S$5,” he said. He explained that beef costs over S$10 per kilo, as opposed to other meats like pork, which can be bought at half the price. 

Ho added: “Beef noodles is not a popular dish, and my locations are weak. Our rental and utilities also work out to more than five figures a month, so it’s not sustainable to continue this business.” 

INVESTED S$20,000 INTO NEW PRAWN MEE BUSINESS

This time, he invested around S$20,000 into Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle. Is he afraid of being burnt again with this new stall? Ho thinks it’s worth the risk.

“I’m always looking for cheap and economical food, and I think I serve economical and good food. So I strongly believe there’s still a chance,” he said.  

Though he has set up shop in a somewhat quieter location at Sixth Avenue, Ho explained that he chose this spot as the coffee shop is owned by his friend, who “knew that I shut down (Horiginal’s) Bedok Reservoir outlet, and quickly facilitated to accommodate me at Sixth Avenue”. Eventually, he hopes to expand and open outlets elsewhere. 

Since opening shop last week, the hawker said business has been encouraging: “In the past week, I’ve had customers who have come back six times already,” he shared. 

PRAWN NOODLES WITH "UNUSUAL PORK ELEMENTS"

His prawn noodles are heavy on pig parts. His bowl features toppings like chunks of housemade prawn paste, medium sized white leg prawns, and assorted pork cuts. Besides the usual pork ribs, he also serves his noodles with innards like pork liver, kidney, pig stomach and pig heart. His broth, made with pork bones and fried prawn heads, is boiled for five to six hours daily. 

Though his prawn mee contains lots of pork, Ho said he still considers his dish more prawn-heavy. He explained: “This soup ratio is stronger in prawn (than pork). This hybrid mix of porky prawn noodles is actually an idea to combine all the elements my family members love, including minced prawn and various pork cuts.” 

He plans to eventually introduce more unique cuts of pork, like long gu (pig’s spine). Currently, he and a hired chef take turns to cook at the stall daily.

Signature Prawn Noodle Soup starts at S$5 here, and for pork lovers, Ho recommends Porky Noodles (from S$5), which features all the pork innards mentioned above, or the Threesome Pork (from S$8), which comes with more premium cuts like sweet intestine and pig’s tail. Dry versions are also available at 50 cents more.

Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle is at 15 Anamalai Ave, Bukit Timah, Singapore 279985. Open daily 9am - 8pm. Tel: 8692 3139. More info via Facebook. 

This story was originally published in 8Days.