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Sporting a slick hairdo and tight compression shirt that aligns with the “Hawker Hunk” image, William Lin, 32, isn’t your usual hawker towkay.
Aside from taking part in pageants like Mr World Singapore and Fitness International Federation’s World Championships, the walking gym bro is the third-generation owner of Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball Noodles. And, you will probably find him at the ever-growing chain’s newly-opened outlet at 146 Jalan Bukit Merah.
Picking up the fishball noodles trade when he was 20 years old, William started the (fish)ball rolling (same corny wordplay, again) by part-timing under the 2nd-gen “师傅 (teacher)” of the stall. The Fujian native then took over the local business 5 years ago.
“如果没有人接手了, 以后都没有 (If no one takes over, there won’t be anyone next time),” he said wistfully. However, venturing into the hawker scene is no easy feat.
Compared to William’s previous schedule of going to the gym twice a day, the fitness model could now only go to the gym twice a week (guess where he went after our conversation). He said with a sigh, “I hope there’s a day when my alarm clock doesn’t wake me up.”
Emphasising that his single rest day in a year is Chinese New Year’s 初一, William begins his day at 1.30am every morning and spends 14 to 16 hours in-store! That’s crazy.
Wait, why not focus on his modelling career though?
Despite receiving many contract offers from high-profile agencies, the driven hawker has turned them down. “没有意义 lor (No meaning lor),” he replied. Coming from a rural village, he expressed his gratitude towards Singapore giving him “many things like a house and a car”.
Therefore, William hopes to “回归社会 (give back to society)” by participating in various charity initiatives and, most importantly, continue his late Singaporean boss’ fishball legacy.
So, let’s talk about what you are here for: Hong Xing’s Fishball Noodles (S$4/S$5). According to William, his stall is probably one of the few in Singapore that still makes their fishballs by hand.
How QQ is QQ?
I don’t know how to phrase this better but I think I can bounce these massive balls.
Handmade daily at yes, 1.30am, William legit manually scoops and rolls these springy fishballs and meatballs from scratch. This ensures that the balls are served at maximum freshness and quality!
While the fishballs are purely made from fish meat, the meatballs are a Chaozhou signature that features fish meat, pork and flatfish.
“50 years ago…My 师傅的师傅 brought this recipe back from China,” he shared. Highlighting that there are multiple steps required to prepare the meatballs, William spends 3 hours a week to prep the flatfish. This includes drying, frying and then mixing them into a paste.
I can attest to how addictive they are – I wanted to dabao home for my mum. It shows how effort and time really pay off.
Moving on to the fishball soup! With briny notes and naturally sweet undertones, the clear broth was a perfect complement to the chewy fishballs and meatballs. I also enjoyed adding salted vegetables to erm, salten the soup for more depth of flavour.
There is also free-flow of vegetables meant for the old folks.
Oh my. Who’s ageing too fast?
Now, behind every bowl of fin-tastic fishball noodles are its carbs, and the ones at Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball Noodles repeatedly hit the mark. Richly coated in scallion oil that has a twinge of garlicky essence, this al dente mee kia (you can opt for mee pok and the traditional fishball noodles too) was amazeballs.
Here’s something you should know – “I didn’t add so much scallion oil last time. But one of my customers told me that it reminded him of his mother, so I added more,” he laughed. AWW!
In addition, the toppings of savoury pork lard and crunchy shallots seal the deal. I live laugh love pork lard, so that’s a plus point for me.
As with the fishballs and meatballs, I could taste the spring in every strand. Observing a nearby customer who had also ordered the same dish, it was apparent to me that he shared the same sentiments. Bro slurped the noods with gusto.
“I want to retire by 35 and return to do the things I love,” he said. He hopes to hit his target of opening 10 outlets before franchising the fishball stall. However, William was initially apprehensive about expanding as he was not confident. What changed?
He owes that to his customers for supporting him. William shyly admitted that the majority are aunties. With bowl after bowl of noodles getting sold out by around 11am, William has adjusted the stall’s opening hours from 7am-7pm to 5am-1pm.
His current stall at 146 Jalan Bukit Merah is his 7th outlet, and he is looking to open his 8th outlet at 78 Telok Blangah. 2 more to go.
“第一是用心 (The first thing is diligence),” the Hawker Hunk said with a smile.
If you are wondering if he’s single, he’s not! William is married and a proud father to a 7-year-old son who regularly follows him to the gym. He exclaimed, “他 5岁的时候, Stadium 可以跑 5圈 (My son could run 5 rounds around the Stadium when he was 5)!”
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Ahem, this is your sign to hit the gym too (same).
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