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40-year-old Kalvin, born and raised in Ipoh, is a newcomer to Singapore’s F&B scene. After spending 8 years as a flight steward with Jetstar and Scoot, he decided to open his own stall, OnlyMee, at Food Tyrant coffee shop at 50 Ubi Avenue 3.
“I enjoyed flying, but I’m pretty much a morning person. Whenever I needed to work the red eye shift, I dreaded it as I couldn’t catch a wink of sleep in the day, and ended up feeling extremely tired.” Kalvin shared.
As Kalvin’s parents have been selling curry mee for the past 20 years in Ipoh, he decided it was time to switch careers and open his own food stall after planning it in his head for 2 years. “My dad (also a hawker) and friends warned against me being a hawker, saying it’s a tough life. But I still wanted to try it out for myself,” he added.
From a young age, Kalvin has always loved cooking, regularly making meals for his housemates. To master the fundamentals and perfect the recipe, Kalvin returned to Ipoh for a 2-week intensive apprenticeship under his parents. They have been running a food stall for around 20 years selling Ipoh curry noodles.
He then tweaked the recipe slightly to suit the taste of Singaporeans, which includes reducing the spiciness of his chilli paste. He makes his char siew in-house, boils, simmers the chicken stock for the Ipoh hor fun and makes the curry gravy. The list doesn’t stop there — he also makes his own prawn oil, shallot oil, and curry paste.
When asked whether being a hawker is tough, Kalvin replies, “It’s a different kind of tiredness. This time, I can finally return home to visit my family for holidays like Chinese New Year, instead of being scheduled to work on a plane over the festive holidays.”
I got the ball rolling with OnlyMee’s Dry Curry Noodles (S$5.80), something less commonly found at Ipoh curry mee places in Singapore. Kalvin chose a mixture of Ipoh hor fun and yellow noodles, which was topped with chicken chunks, pieces of char siew and roasted pork, tau pok, tau geh, and long beans. A little pool of curry gravy stood underneath.
The noodles had a smoky, multi-layered curry flavour which was piquant and appetising. The addition of dark soya sauce also added another dimension of flavour. I already thought the taste was promising, but adding the calamansi just took things up a notch.
For those who eat our local rendition of Ipoh hor fun on a regular basis, you might be surprised with how Ipoh does it. The Shredded Chicken Hor Fun (S$5.80) has strips of thin hor fun served with peeled prawns, chicken chunks, chives, and bathed in chicken stock. What some might mistaken as red chilli oil on top is actually prawn oil, which Kalvin makes weekly.
The prawn oil adds a wave of umami flavour to the gently sweet and robust chicken stock, pairing flawlessly with the silky strands of hor fun. In fact, I was telling Kalvin that his version was even better than the mainstream one I had recently — good job! The prawns were fresh and the chicken was tender; I had no complaints.
The Curry Noodles (S$5.80) at OnlyMee had the same trusted counterparts as the Dry Curry Noodles, but served with a more watered-down gravy.
The curry had a mellower taste, but you’re able to adjust the spice and intensity by incorporating the chilli paste. The pieces of tau pok injected loads of curry into my mouth like a sponge.
I really enjoyed the pieces of char siew, which was sinfully fatty but tender at the same time. Even the slightly charred parts were so satisfying.
If you find yourself in the Ubi area with a craving for authentic, soul-warming curry, make sure to swing by OnlyMee. Show Kalvin some love and experience firsthand the dedication he pours into every bowl! It blew me away, and I hope it does the same for you.
