The 86-year-old roast meat master behind shuttered Chinatown stall now working at People’s Park Food Centre

Despite his daughter's encouragement to retire, the 86-year-old says he intends to continue working for as long as he can, now with assistants helping him handle the more physically demanding tasks.

Veteran roast master Cho Siew Wan, 86, is still working despite plans to retire in 2022. (Photo: 8days/Alvin Teo, Chin Chih Lin)

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Remember the senior shifu behind Old Master Roasted Grill, whose charcoal-roasted meats drew queues at Chinatown Complex Food Centre? Cho Siew Wan is still manning the roasting pit – and at 86, he has no plans to call it a day.

When Old Master Roasted Grill closed in July 2022, its business partner Sham Hei told 8days that the veteran roast master had been advised to retire because the physical demands of roasting meat alone had become too much.

Turns out, Master Cho had other plans. Rather than hang up his apron, he went on to work at Peach Garden before eventually moving to another roast meat stall, 116 Shao La in People's Park Food Centre.

8days recently caught up with the 86-year-old, who has been working at 116 Shao La for about two years. In a recent 8days video, stall owner Liu Li, 50, introduces him as a roast meat specialist with 60 years of experience. The video shows Master Cho lifting glistening slabs of char siew out of an oven and chopping roast pork.

DID NOT RETIRE AFTER OLD MASTER ROASTED GRILL CLOSED

When 8days reported on Old Master Roasted Grill’s closure in August 2022, Master Cho was 82. The stall had shut in July, around 18 months after opening.

Master Cho at his former stall, Old Master Roasted Grill, which closed in 2022. (Photo: 8days/Alvin Teo)

Sham Hei told 8days then that roasting large quantities of meat alone from 5am daily had become too physically demanding for Master Cho. Unable to find an assistant, Sham Hei advised his friend to retire. Attempts to hire a replacement roast master also failed, and the space was converted into a herbal soup stall.

However, Master Cho, who did not hold a stake in the stall, was not ready to stop working.

In a separate interview with 8days, he explained that he went on to work at the OCBC Centre outlet of local Chinese restaurant chain Peach Garden, where a larger team helped ease the physical demands of the job. He stayed there for about two years, before moving on to hawker stall 116 Shao La.

HOW HE STARTED AT 116 SHAO LA

Master Cho and 116 Shao La owner Liu Li go back a long way. Over the past 20 years, he had been hired intermittently as a consultant roast master for her business.

So when her previous roast master left, Liu Li immediately thought of Master Cho, who belongs to her late father's generation of roast meat cooks.

She trusts him to make the cooking and operational decisions, including developing the recipes. “He's the best, we just need to listen to him!” she told 8days.

The shifu with 116 Shao La owner Liu Li, who brought the veteran roast master on board two years ago. (Photo: 8days/Chin Chih Lin)

The arrangement also means Master Cho no longer has to do everything himself. Liu Li employs two other assistants at the stall to handle more physically demanding jobs, such as lifting heavy pieces of meat, leaving him to focus on roasting.

That is why when Liu Li called to offer him a job, Master Cho accepted. He told us that the pay (around mid four-figures) is comparable to what he earned at Peach Garden, while the hours are shorter. He now works from 6.30am to 4pm, with roughly one rest day a week.

For someone who enjoys working, this is a welcome change.

Master Cho had previously run a roast meat stall in Upper Thomson, near Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home. He told us then that it closed around 2014 amid works on the Thomson-East Coast MRT line. He subsequently cooked for other stall owners, finding that less demanding than running a business himself.

STILL ROASTING MEAT DESPITE SMOKE AND HAZE

Master Cho in his element. (Photo: 8days/Chin Chih Lin)

Asked how he gets his roast pork skin so crispy, Cho gave a matter-of-fact answer: “There’s no secret to it.”

“You just need to watch the fire. You have to roast it slowly, it cannot be rushed,” he added.

At 116 Shao La, the meats are roasted using a combination of charcoal and gas. Unlike the fully charcoal-roasted meats at Old Master Roasted Grill, the stall starts the roasting process with a gas cooker before finishing the meat over charcoal. The hawker centre does not permit full charcoal roasting because of the smoke it produces.

When we visited, Master Cho was in good spirits, appearing sprightly and energetic as he went about his work. We expressed concern about him spending hours at the roasting pit amid the recent haze, but he was unfazed, saying it didn't bother him.

WHY KEEP WORKING AT 86?

The senior hawker at his current workplace, where he continues to roast meats. (Photo: 8days/Chin Chih Lin)

Master Cho’s civil servant daughter had asked him to retire, too. But the prospect of staying home all day did not appeal to him.

“I'm already 86,” he said when asked when he plans to stop working. “But I'll carry on until I cannot work anymore.”

When we teased him about whether he would still be working at 90, he replied without hesitation: “If I can, sure!”

With more help at 116 Shao La, Master Cho enjoys greater freedom to delegate tasks and concentrate on the work he knows best. Rather than commit to a retirement date, he prefers to take things day by day and keep working for as long as he can.

Finding someone to eventually take over, however, may be another challenge.

Master Cho told us that apprentices he had trained tend to leave and start their own stalls after six to eight months of learning from him. The work is tough, and he believes few young people are keen to take it up.

FROM MORE THAN 11 STALLS TO ONE

(Photo: Google Maps/Josh Kuek)

116 Shao La is a family business established by Liu's late father, who came from Guangzhou and settled in Singapore with his family.

The business was originally based in a coffee shop at Block 116, Lorong 2 Toa Payoh – hence its name. Liu couldn't recall exactly when the stall first opened, but said it had already been operating for a long time when she officially took over the family business in 2006. The original Toa Payoh stall has since been sold.

At its peak, Liu Li said the business had more than 11 stalls in Singapore. Today, its sole remaining outlet is at People's Park Food Centre, where it has operated for more than two decades.

“We were continually making losses for over a year during the pandemic, so we decided to close all of them except the People's Park branch, which was the most popular and our HQ,” she explained.

Would she like to open more outlets in the future? “Sure, if I can find a capable team. But with rents, food and labour costs rising, expansion is unlikely for now,” she said.

Liu Li works at the People’s Park stall daily, handling orders and keeping the business running. Sales have their ups and downs, she said, declining to share details of the stall's earnings.

(Photo: 8days/Chin Chih Lin)

The traditional roast duck is priced from S$13 a quarter portion to S$46 whole, while a plate of roast duck rice is S$4. The stall also serves herbal duck, marinated with Chinese angelica root. Liu Li said both versions come with crispy skin.

There are two char siew options for customers who prefer fatter or leaner meat. The fatter version uses bu jian tian, described in the video as a cut from the pig’s underarm area. Though the cut costs more, she said both char siew options sell for the same price.

Mixed roast pork and char siew rice is S$5.50, while the noodle version costs S$6. Combo platters featuring two types of meat start at S$8 for one person.

ROAST DUCK STILL AS GOOD

The roast duck and roast pork noodle. (Photo: 8days/Chin Chih Lin)

We sampled the roast meats on a separate visit, and the duck remains a strong choice, with crispy skin, well-seasoned meat and a moist texture.

Our colleague who regularly buys the roast duck noodles for takeaway agrees, describing the skin as crackly and caramelised, with juicy meat and a subtle smokiness, though she finds the eggy wonton noodles average.

PORK SKIN ROLLS AND HOMEMADE CHINESE SAUSAGE

The storefront of 116 Shao La in People's Park Food Centre. (Photo: Google Maps/WKM)

Beyond the roast meats, the stall sells a la carte braised pork skin rolls for S$6. Liu Li said in the 8days video that some older regulars travel from Tampines and Jurong specifically for the dish.

The pork skin is rolled, tied and braised slowly. She said rolling it gives the skin a bouncier texture without making it feel too oily.

Another offering is Chinese sausage, priced at S$6. Made in-house with ground pork and Hua Tiao wine, the sausage has fragrant notes of Chinese wine, a satisfying chew and a sweetness that doesn't overwhelm.

Each morning, the stall’s display is packed so densely with meat that Liu Li joked in the video that they can only see the “outside world” once everything has sold out. For her, the regulars who keep coming back are the best endorsement of the food.

116 Shao La is at #01-1092 People’s Park Food Centre, 32 New Market Rd, Singapore 050032. Open daily 6am - 9pm.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/ .

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尽管女儿劝他退休，这位 86 岁的老人表示，他打算尽可能长时间地继续工作，现在他有了助手来帮助他处理体力消耗较大的任务。

86岁的资深咖啡烘焙师傅卓秀云（Cho Siew Wan）虽然计划在2022年退休，但目前仍在工作。（图片：8days/Alvin Teo, Chin Chih Lin）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

还记得老师傅烤肉店的那位老师傅吗？他家的炭烤肉在牛车水美食中心总是排起长队。赵秀云现在依然在烤肉，而且86岁高龄的他丝毫没有退休的打算。

老师傅烤肉店于 2022 年 7 月关门歇业时，其合伙人沈喜告诉《8days》杂志，这位资深烤肉师傅被建议退休，因为光是烤肉的体力消耗就太大了。

结果，赵师傅另有打算。他并没有就此收手，而是先在桃园烧腊店工作，之后又转到珍珠坊熟食中心的116邵腊烧腊店。

8days 近日采访了这位86岁的老人，他在绍拉116号店工作了大约两年。在8days最近发布的一段视频中，50岁的摊主刘莉介绍他是一位拥有60年经验的烧腊专家。视频中，赵师傅从烤炉里取出油光锃亮的叉烧，并切着烤猪肉。

老牌烤肉店关门后，他并没有退休。

2022 年 8 月，《8days》报道老师傅烤肉店关门时，赵师傅已经 82 岁了。这家烤肉店在开业约 18 个月后，于 7 月关门。

赵师傅在他之前的摊位“老师傅烤肉”前，该摊位已于2022年关闭。（图片：8days/Alvin Teo）

当时，深喜告诉《8days》杂志，赵师傅每天早上5点就开始独自烤肉，体力消耗太大。由于找不到帮手，深喜劝他退休。之后也尝试过聘请新的烤肉师傅，但都失败了，最终店面被改造成了一家药材汤摊。

然而，并没有在摊位上持有股份的赵师傅并不打算停止工作。

在接受《8days》的另一次采访中，他解释说，之后他去了本地中式连锁餐厅桃园的华侨银行中心分店工作，那里团队规模更大，可以减轻体力劳动强度。他在那里工作了大约两年，之后又去了邵拉116号摊位。

他是如何从116号邵拉起步的

赵师傅和116绍拉店老板刘莉相识已久。过去20年间，他曾多次受聘担任刘莉店里的烘焙顾问师傅。

所以当她之前的烤肉师傅离开后，刘莉立刻想到了赵师傅，赵师傅是她已故父亲那一代的烤肉师傅。

她信任他，让他负责烹饪和运营方面的决策，包括研发菜谱。“他是最棒的，我们只需要听他的！”她告诉《8days》杂志。

师父与116绍拉餐厅老板刘莉合影，刘莉两年前聘请了这位资深的咖啡烘焙师傅。（图片：8days/Chin Chih Lin）

这样的安排也意味着赵师傅不必事事亲力亲为。刘力在摊位上雇佣了两名助手，负责搬运较重的肉块等体力活，让他可以专注于烤肉。

所以当刘莉打电话来邀请他加入时，赵师傅欣然接受了。他告诉我们，薪水（大约四位数中段）和他之前在桃园的收入差不多，但工时更短。他现在每天早上6点半工作到下午4点，每周大约休息一天。

对于喜欢工作的人来说，这是一个令人欣喜的变化。

赵师傅之前在汤申路上段，靠近李亚妹养老院的地方经营一家烧腊摊。他告诉我们，大约在2014年，由于汤申-东海岸地铁线施工，摊位就关门了。之后，他开始为其他摊主做饭，因为他觉得这比自己经营摊位轻松得多。

尽管烟雾弥漫，仍在烤肉

赵师傅如鱼得水。（图片：8days/Chin Chih Lin）

当被问及如何才能将烤猪皮烤得如此酥脆时，赵先生直截了当地回答说：“这没有什么秘诀。”

“你只需要看着火。要慢慢烤，不能着急，”他补充道。

在绍拉街116号，肉类采用炭火和燃气混合烤制。与老师傅烤肉店完全使用炭火烤制不同，这家摊位先用燃气灶烤制一部分，然后再用炭火完成最后烘烤。由于炭火烤制会产生大量烟雾，小贩中心不允许完全使用炭火烤制。

我们拜访时，赵师傅精神很好，干活时显得神采奕奕、精力充沛。我们担心他最近雾霾天气长时间在烤炉旁工作，但他却毫不在意，说雾霾对他没有影响。

为什么86岁高龄还要继续工作？

这位资深小贩目前仍在一家摊位烤肉。（图片：8days/陈志林）

赵师傅的公务员女儿也劝他退休。但他并不喜欢整天待在家里。

当被问及何时打算停止工作时，他说：“我已经86岁了，但我会一直工作到不能工作为止。”

当我们打趣地问他90岁的时候是否还会工作时，他毫不犹豫地回答说：“如果可以的话，当然会！”

在绍拉116号有了更多帮手，赵师傅可以更自由地委派任务，专注于自己最擅长的工作。他没有设定退休日期，而是选择顺其自然，尽可能长时间地工作下去。

然而，找到最终的接班人可能是另一个挑战。

赵师傅告诉我们，他教过的学徒通常在跟他学了六到八个月后就会离开，自己开摊。这行很辛苦，他认为很少有年轻人愿意从事这行。

从超过11个摊位减少到一个

（照片：谷歌地图/Josh Kuek）

116绍拉是一家家族企业，由刘先生已故的父亲创立，他来自广州，后来和家人一起定居新加坡。

这家店最初位于大巴窑2巷116座的一家咖啡店里，店名也由此而来。刘女士记不清摊位具体是什么时候开业的，但她说，在她2006年正式接手家族生意时，摊位已经经营了很长时间。最初的大巴窑摊位后来被卖掉了。

刘莉说，鼎盛时期，这家店在新加坡有超过11个摊位。如今，只剩下珍珠坊熟食中心一家门店，在那里已经经营了二十多年。

“在疫情期间，我们连续亏损了一年多，所以我们决定关闭除人民公园分店以外的所有分店，人民公园分店是最受欢迎的分店，也是我们的总部，”她解释说。

她未来是否想开设更多分店？“当然，如果我能找到合适的团队。但随着租金、食品和劳动力成本的上涨，目前扩张的可能性不大。”她说道。

刘莉每天都在人民公园的摊位工作，负责接单和维持生意运转。她说，生意有起有落，但她拒绝透露摊位的具体收入情况。

（图片：8days/Chin Chih Lin）

传统烤鸭的价格从四分之一只13新元到整只46新元不等，烤鸭饭一份4新元。这家摊位还供应药材鸭，用当归腌制而成。刘莉说，两种烤鸭的鸭皮都很脆。

叉烧有两种选择，分别满足喜欢肥瘦不同的顾客。肥瘦叉烧选用的是视频中提到的“腋下肉”，也就是猪腋窝的部位。虽然这部分成本更高，但她表示两种叉烧的售价相同。

混合烤猪肉和叉烧饭售价 5.50 新元，面条版售价 6 新元。包含两种肉类的组合拼盘，单人份起价 8 新元。

烤鸭依然美味

烤鸭烤肉面。（图片：8days/Chin Chih Lin）

我们在另一次光顾时品尝了烤肉，烤鸭仍然是不错的选择，鸭皮酥脆，鸭肉入味，口感鲜嫩多汁。

我们一位经常买烤鸭面外卖的同事也同意这种说法，她形容鸭皮酥脆焦香，鸭肉鲜嫩多汁，带有淡淡的烟熏味，不过她觉得鸡蛋馄饨面味道一般。

猪皮卷和自制中式香肠

珍珠坊熟食中心116邵拉店面。（图片：谷歌地图/WKM）

除了烤肉之外，这家摊位还出售单点的卤猪皮卷，售价6新元。刘莉在8days的视频中说，一些老顾客会特意从淡滨尼和裕廊赶来吃这道菜。

猪皮卷好后捆扎起来，慢火炖煮。她说，卷起来能让猪皮更有弹性，而且不会太油腻。

另一款产品是售价 6 新元的中国香肠。这款香肠采用店内自制的猪肉馅和花雕酒制成，带有浓郁的中国酒香，口感劲道，甜味适中，不会过于甜腻。

每天早上，摊位上的肉都摆得满满当当，刘莉在视频里开玩笑说，只有卖光了才能看到“外面的世界”。对她来说，那些不断光顾的老顾客就是对食物最好的证明。

116 Shao La 位于新加坡新市场路 32 号人民公园熟食中心 #01-1092，邮编 050032。营业时间为每日早上 6 点至晚上 9 点。

本文最初发表于《8Days》杂志。

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