Hawker Hustlers: Former national swimmer Nicholas Ho on serving up his family’s famed lor mee

Having opened at Buangkok Hawker Centre in December last year, Ming Chung White Lor Mee stands out for its unique version of the dish. 

Also known as Henghua lor mee (originating from Putian in China’s Fujian province), this is a white broth wok-cooked version of the dish, with a hearty serving of ingredients including vegetables, seafood, pork, and clams. 

If you’re expecting the more ubiquitous Hokkien-style dark-sauce version you’d typically get at other stalls in Singapore, you’re in for a surprise.

The hawker stall is also an offshoot of the famed Ming Chung Restaurant at Maude Road. Started by the late Ho Ah Tong, himself a migrant from Putian, Ming Chung Restaurant was established in 1933 and is one of Singapore’s oldest Henghua restaurants.

Today, it is run by Peter Ho and serves a range of zi char-style dishes including staples like white lor mee, fried bee hoon, fried batang fish, stir fried kai lan, and prawn fritters. 

On the other hand, Ming Chung White Lor Mee is run by fourth-generation chef Nicholas Ho, 30, the great-grandson of Ho Ah Tong and nephew of Peter Ho. 

How it all began

While Nicholas had always aspired to expand his family business in some way, he wanted to gain experience in other fields before taking the plunge into F&B, full-time. 

He obtained an honours degree in business & management from the University of London and even competed as a national swimmer from the ages of 12 to 23. He swam on the global stage at major events such as the SEA Games in 2009 and World University Games in 2017.

Upon graduation, he worked a business consulting job in the automotive industry, specialising in strategy and data analytics. 

But he always had an eye on the family business. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the family called for reinforcements, there was no better time.

“My family needed help with the restaurant. I assisted them in the kitchen by cutting ingredients and slowly learnt to cook dishes like bee hoon, fried rice and lor mee,” Nicholas says. 

As he began to master more dishes, he soon thought of opening his own restaurant and spent the next two years sourcing for suitable spaces. Alas, the restaurant rental market proved too expensive, costing around “S$200,000 to S$300,000”. 

The idea of opening a hawker stall became increasingly appealing, considering the lower start-up costs. So when the opportunity to apply for a stall at then-new Buangkok Hawker Centre came about in mid-2023, Nicholas jumped at the chance. 

He also roped in his sister, Amanda, 28, to join the fray. Similar to Nicholas, Amanda studied business management in university and worked in corporate for a few years. When Covid-19 happened, she shared Nicholas’ sentiments and was all-in on helping when he opened the hawker stall.  She now helps with front-end duties such as cashiering and other administrative tasks.

At first, Nicholas’ dad was hesitant about the venture, citing manpower challenges. He worried that Nicholas would have to handle all aspects of the business by himself if he couldn’t find good help.

Thankfully, Nicholas managed to hire suitable workers. 

“My dad was very supportive of my initial setup too, helping me with some operational workload,” he adds. “My mom has been supportive too. She wants me to work hard and enjoy what I do.” 

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Ming Chung Lor Mee’s menu

In comparison to Ming Chung Restaurant, which serves a range of zi char dishes, Ming Chung Lor Mee focuses on some of the restaurant’s signature items. 

These include lor mee ($6.50), fried bee hoon (from $6.50), stir-fried flower clams (from $12) and prawn rolls ($5 for three pieces, $13 for eight).  

The best seller is of course the white lor mee, a family recipe taught to Nicholas by his father and Ming Chung Restaurant’s current head chef. The dish features white broth, along with ingredients such as fried yam, lor bak (braised pork belly), sotong, prawns, clams, bean curd skin, and vegetables. 

“The lor bak is prepared by our restaurant and is braised for around one to two hours,” Nicholas adds. “This makes it soft and ensures it doesn’t break apart.” 

After it’s made at the Maude Road location, it is then transported to the stall, he adds.

As for the white broth, it consists of fresh chicken and other secret ingredients, which are added into the stock daily. 

The noodles are a key component, too. In fact, Nicholas’ day begins at 10am each day, by first braising, then boiling them once, in preparation for the cooking process. 

According to Nicholas, Ming Chung’s noodles are handmade with wheat flour and are specially imported from the Putian region. 

And they absorb the soup flavour and ingredients well — so much so that, if you were to order a takeaway portion, the soup and noodles are packed together on purpose. 

After trying a takeaway serving of the lor mee, I’m inclined to agree. The noodles didn’t coagulate and get soggy, as they are wont to do — they still tasted fresh and flavourful when I consumed them at home some time after our interview.

I also loved the broth, which was rich and well-seasoned, without being overly viscous. In fact, I much prefer white lor mee to the more common dark-sauce version, which can be too starchy and filling after a couple of bites. 

I was impressed by the tenderness of the lor bak as well and appreciated the generous portion and freshness of the clams, sotong and prawns. 

Venturing out as a first-time hawker

As a first-time hawker with no past experience running a business, Nicholas is grateful for his background in business and management. “I’m currently managing all business aspects of the operations such as accounting, finances and HR, so my degree and work experience has definitely come in handy,” says Nicholas. 

He has even conducted data research on the delivery platforms he uses and combined all the data together, to find out where his delivery customers are coming from. 

“Most of them are from the Sengkang and Punggol areas, so this new demographic is encouraging,” he adds. “I’m also grateful to see long-time customers who frequent our Maude Road restaurant. They even bring their kids here and it’s nice to welcome the new generation.” 

Nicholas also hopes to continue his family legacy by further expanding his hawker business. Come August, he will be opening another stall at the new Woodleigh Hawker Centre, with the menu to follow that of the Buangkok stall. When opportunity allows, he also hopes to eventually open a restaurant of his own and continue serving up his family’s signature Henghua delights. 

Can’t get enough of noodles? Check out the young hawkers at Three Generations Gourmet and Tong Sheng Mian Jia. Also, stay in the know for the latest openings in town.

Ming Chung White Lor Mee is on the GrabFood Delivery Service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off with GrabUnlimited). 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine Out service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to taste out the legacy recipes at Ming Chung White Lor Mee.