October 21, 2024
SINGAPORE – Mr Chan Tuck Cheong, founder and namesake of the famed Fatty Cheong hawker stall at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre in Bukit Merah, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57 on Oct 19.
Mr Chan’s son, Lachlan, announced the news in a Facebook post with a photo of his father.
He wrote in Chinese: “Dad, you are finally free of the pain. Put your heart at ease, we will take good care of Mummy. We will live our remaining days well. You will always be our pride.”
Mr Chan is survived by his wife and two sons, Lachlan and Lachron, both of whom have now taken over the reins of running the stall.
Founded in 1992, the stall is known for serving juicy charcoal-grilled roast pork, char siew rice and wonton mee, and is especially famous for its “bu jian tian” (which means “never seeing the light” in Chinese) char siew, a tender cut which comes from the pig’s underarm.
Mr Melvin Chew, 46, a hawker advocate and owner of Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap at Chinatown Complex Food Centre, told The Straits Times on Oct 20 that Mr Chan’s “bu jian tian” char siew is “legendary”.
“If I am at ABC Brickworks for lunch, I will definitely order the char siew and siew yoke rice. It’s so addictive to me. I appreciated Uncle Fatty Cheong for his wonderful char siew and roast meat. A star has fallen from our hawker culture,” he said.
In an interview with the now-defunct Chinese publication Lianhe Wanbao published in May 2021, Mr Chan had said that growing up among eight siblings in Chinatown, he tried all sorts of roast meats and always harboured a dream to become a “roast meat king”.
He told Wanbao that his ultimate desire was to see Fatty Cheong become a global brand that belongs to Singapore.
Roast meat hawker Chan Tuck Cheong (second from right) with (from left) his elder son Lachlan, his wife and his younger son Lachron in 2021. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO/THE STRAITS TIMES
The name of the stall is derived from Mr Chan himself, who said he was often called Fatty as he used to be overweight at 140kg.
Despite his aspirations, Mr Chan entered the food business simply to make a living, where he learnt how to wash vegetables, do dishes and handle fish from the age of 10.
He admitted that he was never a good student and did not graduate from primary school, but found that he had culinary talent, which he put to good use with Fatty Cheong.
He recalled: “I could somehow always remember really complex recipes by heart.”
Lachlan, 32, and Lachron, 29, both began learning the ropes of running the hawker stall in their teenage years, but Mr Chan continued to helm the stall even as his sons grew older.
He told Wanbao in 2021: “I’m still young, a lot of people are still working at my age. Why should I retire?”
Aside from his char siew business, Mr Chan also loved martial arts. He learnt the Hung Ga and Jow Ga styles of martial arts as a child and continued practising them over his lifetime.
His wake will take place at Block 575A Woodlands Drive 16 from Oct 20 to Oct 24.