Famed soy sauce chicken stall seeks Bt50m recipe deal

The stall’s owner, Chan Hon Meng, 51, tells The Straits Times that over the past month, he has been in talks with five companies to expand his business.
Three of them are in the food-and-beverage industry, including Hong Kong dim sum restaurant chain Tim Ho Wan.
One of them is in the hotel industry and he declined to reveal the background of the last company.
They had either turned up at his stall in Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre with offers or inquired through the local representative of the Michelin Guide.
Chan wants to remain a partner even after selling the recipe.
“Michelin has awarded the accolade to me, so it is important that I am still involved in the business.”
He has set three criteria for those who are keen to partner him.
He is asking for at least 2 million Singapore dollars (Bt51 million) as a “guaranteed cooperation fee” for the recipe for his famed soy sauce chicken and cooking expertise.
He says his asking price is based on the amount that Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint in Upper Paya Lebar Road received when it sold its recipes in 2014 to electronics firm Aztech Group.
It was paid $4 million, which included $2 million for the shophouse premises.
“Even before the Michelin star, my stall is already popular. Now, my business has become more than three times better, with about 160 chickens sold daily,” he said.
The partner must have the resources to expand the brand “all over the world”.
And the company needs to ensure that the taste of his soy sauce chicken is replicated and standardised in all the outlets.
Citing fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken as an example, Chan says in Mandarin that KFC sells chicken and has been successful in ensuring that the taste of its food remains the same throughout the world.
“I hope to do the same and become the No 2 chicken eatery chain around the world after it.”
Of the five offers, he is seriously considering the one from an international food company that meets most of his criteria.
A key reason he wants to expand overseas is the increase in tourists at his eight-year-old |stall since its Michelin award in July.
About 90 per cent of his customers now are tourists.
“If so many people from all over the world are visiting my stall, I think my food can be well-received in other countries too,” he says.
“It has always been a dream to expand my business overseas and pass it to the next generation.”
He learnt how to cook soy sauce chicken from a Hong Kong chef in 1989 when he was working in a Chinese restaurant, and has tweaked the recipe.
“Manpower is a longstanding problem in Singapore, so I want to spend some time studying the details and work out a win-win deal for both parties,” he told Shin Min Daily News.