After 17 years in oil and gas, Stomper is 'happier' running wanton mee stall with his wife
After building a corporate career in the oil and gas industry, one man never expected to eventually become a hawker.
Stomper Alvin told Stomp he spent 17 years working in sales for a local company, joining the firm in 2001 when it had just over 20 staff.
Over the years, he rose from sales executive to senior sales executive and eventually became a key account manager. As the company expanded to more than 100 employees, Alvin said he was consistently among the top sales performers for over a decade.
"Many big bosses tried to ask me to join them because I was one of the top salespeople," he said.
However, things changed as management shifted.
"My old boss was very good, but not the new generation boss," he said.
In 2017, Alvin agreed to leave the company with compensation. He then tried to look for another job, but found that most offers came with a pay cut of about 70 per cent — something he said was not sustainable as he still had a family to support.
However, an unexpected opportunity arose.
"I was lucky to know someone I consider my wanton mee sifu," he said. "He was willing to teach me."
Alvin trained under the hawker for two months — a period he described as physically and mentally exhausting.
"I had to wake up at 3am every day and stand the whole day until both my legs had cramps," he said.
It was his wife's support that kept him going.
"She encouraged me and I fought all the way through," he said.
Today, the 49-year-old hawker and his 39-year-old wife run Zhong Ji Noodles (钟记面食) at Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre together.
He shared photos with Stomp showing prominent figures, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu visiting his stall.
Alvin said many people doubted that he would succeed after leaving a stable corporate job for hawker life.
"A lot of people thought I couldn't make it," he said. "So my wife and I showed them that we can — and even do better."
Despite the long hours and hard work, Alvin said he is more content now than he has ever been.
"I'm even happier running my own noodle stall with my wife," he said.
