Tan Ah Sai founded Tan Ser Seng Herbal Soup in 1946 with one signature dish on the menu — turtle soup, brewed to give coolies strength.
Almost 80 years later, the restaurant is in the hands of its third generation owner, Tan Ah Sai’s 34-year-old grandson Allan Tan, who is aggressively trying to modernise the brand while shouldering its immense legacy.
A tough job, it might seem, in a year that’s seen many food and beverage (F&B) businesses closing down.
Stomp spoke to Allan from his office (and former bedroom) on the second floor of the restaurant at Lorong 21 Geylang, where his family used to live.
His earliest memory of the restaurant was when he was five or six. The family had just moved to Geylang from Eunos, and the restaurant’s dining area and kitchen doubled as his playground.
Allan remembers sweeping the floors during school holidays, occasionally knocking into customers and getting yelled at by them. His mother would smooth over those mini-accidents with frantic apologies.
With his parents juggling long hours and a formidable age gap of 15 years between him and his sister, the shop became the place he wandered, played and eventually worked for extra pocket money to fund his travels.
“My entire childhood was here,” said the soft-spoken owner.
Unlike many traditional family businesses, Allan’s parents did not force him to take over.
“I think that my mum actually didn’t want me to take over because she thinks that the F&B business is very tough,” said Allan.
Allan admits his job isn’t “sexy”. A typical day begins at 3am and continues long after that – broths are simmered for 12 hours and then double boiled for an additional two hours.
Despite the challenges, he made the decision to run the family business “purely” on his own.
Sister didn’t have choice
His sister, however, didn’t have the same luxury. While completing an internship after university, their father had “randomly” called her and threatened to sell off the business if she did not join.
Allan said sheepishly: “So she really had to literally quit her job on the spot and then come to take over the business the next day.”
Based on his easy-going manner, one gets the sense that there’s no hard feelings between the family members. Today, Allan’s sister oversees R&D while her husband manages operations and human resources.
