Ex-assistant head chef now earns '3 times more' than his old S$8,000 salary at Din Tai Fung after leaving to open own Taiwanese eateries

Opened three weeks ago in Chinatown, Taiwanese restaurant Ah Zhong Mian Xian is the brainchild of another former DTF chef, albeit one who has “no regrets not joining the fried rice hawker trend”. Ben Yu, 46, a Taiwan-born chef who used to work at Din Tai Fung’s Taipei HQ, was the mentor of the abovementioned hawkers.

“I’ve never considered launching a fried rice hawker brand. The hawker concept is too limited, I’m going for a mid-range dining experience where customers can savour their food in a more comfortable setting and staff can also work in ideal conditions,” he explains in Mandarin.Ah Zhong Mian Xian is housed in a bright pink, air-conditioned shophouse along South Bridge Road . The 120-seater offers an extensive menu of over 70 items ranging from sides and soups to various rice and noodle dishes.

The restaurant exudes an old-school, mom-and-pop charm, with handwritten Chinese menus adorning the walls as well as a scattering of vintage trinkets. The staff sport fun floral bandanas – made from traditional Taiwanese Hakka fabric , which is also used to decorate the joint. There’s no service charge here – place your order at the cashier and the friendly servers will bring the food to your table.

Ben explains, “Feng Food is located in a shopping mall that is integrated with Yishun bus interchange and MRT station. It has high foot traffic and therefore, higher rent.” Feng Food’s signature mee sua and fried rice with pork chop cost $9.30 and $12.90, respectively, compared to $8.80 and $12.30 at Ah Zhong Mian Xian in Chinatown. The founder states that portion sizes are similar at both outlets.As his business expands, Ben seldom cooks at the eateries these days.

We asked if he’s privy to BreadTalk Group’s thoughts on his partnerships with its ex-employees. “I don’t know, I’m not in touch with them. To be clear, my partners were the ones who approached me directly about joining my ventures as they approve of my working style and culinary skills,” he says.Since we’ve not visited Ay-Chung in years, we won’t draw a direct comparison to the famous Taipei joint.

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