Chew Zhi Jie, 27, sells BBQ seafood in a hawker centre.

But he used to hate being sweaty. And smelly.

In fact, when he was younger, he could not even carry the hotplate used to serve seafood.

"There was a time [when I was 10 years old], I tried carrying the hotplate, then I actually dropped the hotplate," said Chew.

"Damn scary. I didn't even bother to pick it up, I just run back."

Well, a lot has changed for him since then.

Shorter working hours?

Chew has a degree in economics and finance. He worked for a bank but left.

These days, he is the founder of Jiao Cai Hotplate BBQ at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, and has been so for about eight months already.

According to Chew, who is relatively shy, his working hours actually became shorter after the change in vocation.

He said: "I open shop at about four (in the afternoon), but the crowd will only come at about six. So at six, I will start cooking until the latest about 9.30pm."

"I will cook for only about three hours. That's all."

But this does not mean that life is easier for Chew.

He explained: "Now my working hours are actually shorter, but I always tell my mum this timing is bu san bu si (odd hours)."

In addition, he has recently started working through lunch hours.

"I can't have a proper lunch, I can't have a proper dinner at all with my friends."

"All my freedom will be gone"

Chew said: "Last time, I cannot stay at home do nothing. I need to go out every day, I need to go out, have fun with my friends."

"So when I first started working here, the first thing that came to my mind was that all my freedom will be gone."

But Chew came to understand that sacrifices are necessary to be hawker, rather than to just go with the flow and have fun.

"This is what I chose, and if this is what I chose, then I must accept it," he said.

But his friends are definitely a special bunch.

Chew revealed they would make their way down to his stall at least three times a week.

And yes, that's a lot of time and dedication for a bunch of working adults.

Chew said: "When I cannot go down with them, they make an effort to come down and find me."

"I'm not like those normal boyfriends"

And if you're wondering will your friends be as dedicated towards you, here's something else to make you jealous.

Chew shares that despite his odd hours, he would meet his girlfriend — who works as an insurance agent — about five times a week.

"She'll always come find me, or if not after work I'll go and find her," said Chew. He adds that she has been nothing short of supportive.

He points to the photos and printed articles in front of the stall: "She help me do those things, because I'm not very good with it."

He was upfront with her from the start.

He said: "So when I got together with her, I told her if want to be together, must understand that I'm not like those normal boyfriends that can have romantic dinner dates with you."

"I'm a hawker. I'll be smelly, very dirty, and my working hours really bu san bu si (odd hours)."

But his girlfriend had no qualms about his career choice.

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One day off a week, spent with his mother

His only day off is not reserved for his girlfriend either.

He told us: "The reason why my off day is on Tuesday is because my mum off on Tuesday also. So I tend to spend my off day with her.”

Chew said that he has always had a good relationship with his mother, who single-handedly raised Chew and his sister while running three F&B stalls.

When he decided to quit his job at the bank, where he worked at for three years, he helped his mum out at her stall in Yuhua food centre.

It was during this time that he decided to take over the family business and asked her to teach him how to cook.

He said: "I spent a lot of time standing behind her and staring."

Business was particularly good when he started out, as Yishun Park Hawker Centre was still a novel place to dine at.

In the first month, revenue was in tens of thousands.

But in the second month the figure dropped by half, as the novelty wore off.

Now, the business has stabilised and is doing "okay" with the weekend crowd and regulars' patronage.

However, despite being his own boss, Chew's mother would still visit and "scold" him for not meeting her standards.

There was once, for instance, where she dropped by and noticed that the portion of stingray was slightly smaller than usual.

He recalls, laughing: "She would say (in Mandarin) 'What is this? Why different from what I taught you?'"

Making friends with regulars

Chew said that despite the pay cut, his job change was "definitely worth it".

A big contributing factor is his customers.

He is happiest when customers come up to him just to convey their compliments.

"The aunties will say (in Mandarin) 'Your food is good, do you sell the chilli?'"

He adds: "Even though I've only been here for seven to eight months, I have regulars already. Some can one week come five times."

He said that some of his regulars patronises his stall so often that he already remembers their orders, and he is even friends with some of them on Facebook.

And because of this, Chew does not see himself going back to the corporate world any time soon.

"The moment I stepped into this industry, I had to think very carefully."

"So, I'm going to do this all the way."

Top image by Jannelle Ho