Ang Chip Hong, a 53-year-old former employee of Singapore Management University, has left his academic career to fully immerse himself in Singapore's storied hawker trade. Despite the rich cultural significance of this culinary tradition, Ang faced an unexpected hurdle: the inability to hire a chef for his hawker stall. To overcome this challenge, he invested in technology, acquiring a robot from Wuhan for S$14,000 to help him perfect the art of cooking Hokkien mee.
The introduction of this robot marks a significant shift in Ang's business operations. By employing the robot, Ang can efficiently run his stall with just one staff member who requires no culinary skills. This innovation not only streamlines his operations but also opens up the possibility of business expansion. Ang is already planning to open two more outlets and aims to diversify the robot's food offerings in the near future.
Ang's decision to embrace technology stems from a broader issue within Singapore's hawker industry: a reluctance among locals to take up hawker jobs. He cites economic reasons for this trend, highlighting that many Singaporeans prefer jobs as clerks, who earn around S$3,000 a month in comfortable environments. In comparison, hawkers earn slightly more, about S$4,000 monthly, but the demanding nature of the work deters many from pursuing it.
“It’s not worth the effort to them to make S$4,000 (US$2,950) a month with long hours standing over a hot stove when you can make S$3,000 a month as a clerk in an air-conditioned room behind a desk” – Ang Chip Hong
The situation reflects a larger narrative of modernization clashing with tradition in Singapore's economy. As more individuals opt for jobs that offer better work-life balance and less physical strain, traditional roles like that of a hawker face existential challenges. For Ang, the solution lies in adapting to these changes by integrating automation into his business model.
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