Ben Yeo unfazed by critics as he opens 2 new F&B businesses offering Thai food, curry fishhead, Lifestyle News

Despite starting and closing several F&B ventures in recent years, serial entrepreneur Ben Yeo is back with two new concepts. 

In March, he opened a stall in Chinatown specialising in curry fish head, and he’ll be launching a Thai eatery this weekend.

While some people have questioned whether his businesses would last, Ben isn’t fazed by them. 

“I’m not alone. Other businessmen have done more than I have and opened and closed more F&B businesses than me. But just because I’m an artiste, people will magnify everything,” he told AsiaOne in an interview on Thursday (April 9).

“I am okay because that’s something to be expected,” said the 47-year-old.

When starting new F&B ventures, his priority is people such as his friends, family, and of course, his customers. 

“I’m grateful that I don’t have many haters, but I cannot say there are none,” Ben told us.

Regarding the naysayers, he said: “I will not focus on and use my energy on them, because I believe they don’t patronise my businesses at all or have tried my food. And they are definitely not doing business, so they won’t understand, and I don’t need them to understand either.” 

In future, Ben hopes to branch out to other F&B concepts, but that will depend on current trends and consumer preferences. 

“Nowadays, customers’ palates change very fast. So, whenever there are new things, we try them,” he explained.

Noting the abundance of choices in the F&B scene, Ben said that businesses have to keep adapting, changing, and upgrading themselves. 

“We have to keep thinking of new things…It is something that we realised over the years.” 

2 new F&B ventures

One of Ben’s new ventures is Chinatown Curry Fish Head, which he started together with his cousin, who is the head chef of his other business Tan Xiang Charcoal Fish Head. 

Chinatown Curry Fish Head officially opened on March 21. 

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Located at Waterloo Street, the stall specialises in curry fish head ($26) cooked in a claypot over charcoal. The menu also features zi char dishes such as Sambal Kang Kong ($8), Garlic Fried Pork ($14), and Handmade Beancurd Skin Prawn Cake ($12).

More curry dishes with ingredients such as beef and pork are in the works, Ben told us. 

“Curry fish head is something that we have wanted to add to our Tan Xiang Charcoal Fish Head Steamboat menu for the longest time. But we were worried that fishhead steamboat may clash with curry fishhead,” he said adding that curry fish head is one of his cousin’s specialty dishes.

The pair have been discussing this idea for four years, but it took a backseat as they were focused on running other businesses.

When a unit opened up near Tan Xiang Sliced Fish Soup’s Waterloo branch, Ben decided to open Chinatown Curry Fish Head there. 

“We saw potential in the space because there is a lot of international crowd and a new hotel right opposite. There are a lot of foreigners, and we have always wanted to introduce our food to them,” said Ben. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DW30LRYCeAC/

His other new F&B business is a Thai eatery cheekily named Benkok13.

Located at the void deck of an HDB block in Taman Jurong, Benkok13 will officially open on Sunday (April 12). 

While Ben and his business partner considered offering local fare, they eventually decided on Thai food because they already have several F&B concepts selling fish soup and zi char. 

“We’ve been opening the same kind of F&B businesses over and over again, so we wanted to try something new,” he said. 

Thai food is also something Singaporeans are familiar with, he added.

So, Ben and his Tan Xiang team partnered with the owner of Hom Aroy Thai Food, who already runs several Thai F&B businesses in Singapore. 

“She has the experience, which is why we decided to partner with her,” Ben explained, adding that the kitchen is run by Thai staff. 

When asked, he declined to reveal the identities of his business partners.

While he was looking for a vacant unit for a new F&B venture, Ben and his partner hadn’t decided on a concept. 

But Ben knew that he wanted to open an eatery at a void deck.

It has been his “small childhood fantasy” to run a mamak shop in a place where he often hung out as a kid, he said.

Sharing the inspiration behind Benkok13’s name, he said that there are 13 dishes on the menu.

It includes classic Thai favourites such as Tom Yum Soup ($8.80), Pad Thai with Pork or Chicken ($7.80), Pineapple Fried Rice with Seafood ($9.80), Fried Vermicelli with Pork or Chicken ($7.80), and Coconut Soup Tom Ka Kai ($8.80). 

The 60-seater eatery also offers several local breakfast items such as kaya toast, soft-boiled egg, kopi, and teh. 

Ben said that they had left the menu to their Thai business partner because she was the expert, and asked her to come up with 13 dishes that were best-sellers at her restaurants. 

“We wanted to keep the menu small based on our experience. Previously, we had a very big zi char menu. There was a lot of wastage because there were some dishes that people didn’t order so the ingredients went to waste,” he explained. 

A more curated menu will also make it easier for customers to decide what they want to order, he added.

While the eatery’s menu features 13 dishes for now, Ben said they may update it at any time.

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melissateo@asiaone.com