{"id":43861,"date":"2026-04-12T12:44:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=43861"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:44:39","slug":"fomer-actor-huang-yiliang-turns-fishmonger-and-hawker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=43861","title":{"rendered":"Fomer actor Huang Yiliang turns fishmonger and hawker"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 By 7am, six days a week, former actor Huang Yiliang is at MacPherson Market and Food Centre, scaling and cleaning fish<\/span><\/a> at his wet market stall.<\/p>\n

At 11am, he walks to Circuit Road Hawker Centre, about 400m away. There, he mans the stove at his new stall Old Fisherman, stir-frying crab dishes and steaming seafood for the lunch crowd up to 2pm.<\/p>\n

That is followed by a short nap at home before he resumes food preparation for the dinner crowd from 5 to 8pm.<\/p>\n

In a plot twist, the 64-year-old, who originally intended to import and distribute crabs, has become a fishmonger and hawker in his third act. <\/p>\n

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\"Former<\/picture><\/div>
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Former actor Huang Yiliang has opened a hawker stall selling seafood dishes, including crab.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He was a popular face on local television. He joined Mediacorp (then known as Singapore Broadcasting\u00a0Corporation) in 1985 as a 24-year-old, where he went on to win Best Supporting Actor at the annual Star Awards three times \u2013 in 2002, 2003 and 2006. <\/p>\n

After 23 years with the broadcaster, he left in 2008 to run a plumbing business and start a movie production company. Wanting to try his hand at producing and directing, he released his first film, Autumn In March, in 2009. The movie, made on a $1 million budget, was rejected by three movie distributors and released on DVD.<\/p>\n

His plumbing company once employed up to eight workers. The business is still active, but instead of full-timers, he hires local plumbers on an ad-hoc basis. <\/p>\n

In recent years, Huang has been dogged by legal troubles. In 2021, he was sentenced to 10 months\u2019 jail for assaulting a Bangladeshi worker he had hired. In 2024, he was fined $3,000 and banned from driving for five years after colliding with a cyclist<\/span><\/a>, leaving the victim with a fractured elbow.<\/p>\n

He does not flinch when asked about his time behind bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I went to Changi University,\u201d he says in Mandarin sheepishly, referring to his time in prison, adding that he was released after five months for good behaviour.<\/p>\n

Asked if he feels awkward being a hawker after two decades on television, especially when so many customers recognise him, he waves it off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care how people view me. I can put my pride down,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing a hawker is a retirement job for me. I want to do something I truly love. I am an active person. I cannot sit still.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as an actor, he had a side hustle as an insurance agent, making cold calls at industrial estates and approaching strangers at MRT stations between filming. At his peak, he led a team of 19 agents and earned about $10,000 a month.<\/p>\n

Before acting, he was a licensed plumber in his late father\u2019s plumbing, landscaping and construction business. A year into acting, he joined friends to start a tropical fish farm in Lim Chu Kang, wading into knee-high mud to dig ponds. The venture incurred a loss, leaving him $20,000 out of pocket. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a learning experience. I can take hardship,\u201d says the former star, who married actress Lin Meijiao, 62, in 1991. <\/p>\n

The couple divorced in 1997, when their daughter, actress Chantalle Ng, was only a few months old. He is estranged from Ng, now aged 30. He has since remarried and has a son, 21, an undergraduate. <\/p>\n

Huang says the idea to venture into seafood came during his time in prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a cell with seven people,\u201d he says. \u201cWe spent a lot of time chatting. Some of them had experience in the food business. They gave me the idea to sell crab.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has always liked the hard-shelled crustacean. \u201cI wanted to sell durian or crab,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Intending to import and distribute crabs, he secured a wet market stall at MacPherson Market and Food Centre in May 2023.<\/p>\n

He began by supplying Indonesian crabs to stalls at wet markets in places such as\u00a0Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh, delivering orders in a van until he lost his driving licence.<\/p>\n

When he ran into supplier issues, he began selling fish, learning to scale them properly. In the beginning, he often cut himself with the knife.<\/p>\n

He also tried calling crab suppliers in Sri Lanka. When they did not respond, he travelled there himself. In 2024, he made four trips, going it alone and walking through wholesale markets to approach suppliers.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he found a seller willing to work with him. But rising costs of late have led him to source from local suppliers here too.<\/p>\n

In February 2026, he opened Old Fisherman. His aim: to offer restaurant-quality dishes at affordable prices.<\/p>\n

His bestseller is Crab Mee Hoon. Crabs cost $40 each (500g to 600g), with customers choosing how they are cooked. Options include Chilli Crab, Black Pepper Crab and Salted Egg Crab. <\/p>\n

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\"Crab<\/picture><\/div>
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Crab Mee Hoon is former actor Huang Yiliang\u2019s signature dish. <\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other popular dishes include Steamed Flower Grouper ($12), featuring his housemade steamed fish sauce.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Flower<\/picture><\/div>
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Flower Grouper at Old Fisherman.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The self-taught home cook says he refined his Crab Mee Hoon over a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learnt from over 20 chefs by asking them for tips. I would go to their restaurant kitchens or even their homes to watch how they cooked the dish,\u201d he says. \u201cI pieced together my recipe from what I learnt from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/picture><\/div>
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The Crab Mee Hoon is cooked to order.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He spent $20,000 to set up his stall within a month. His background in plumbing came in handy. He designed the stall himself, ordering the stainless steel counter, fridge, commercial steamer and gas stove from Chinese online platform Taobao.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen starting a new business, it is better to be cost-conscious. I save where possible, including washing the dishes myself,\u201d he says. But he maintains he does not skimp on quality ingredients, choosing to use naturally fermented premium Shaoxing wine for his dishes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Former<\/picture><\/div>
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Former actor Huang Yiliang insists on using premium Shaoxing wine for his seafood dishes.<\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But running a hawker stall has been challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commercial gas stove is a lot more powerful than what I am used to at home. On my first day, I burned a lot of dishes,\u201d he says ruefully.<\/p>\n

He also struggled to hear customers above the roar of the stove. Fellow hawkers stepped in to help, with one even frying a dish for him. By the third day, he had adjusted.<\/p>\n

He continues to seek advice from them, including tips on cooking rice so it keeps longer. \u201cIt is a learning process. I am constantly seeing how I can improve,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\"Former<\/picture><\/div>
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Former actor Huang Yiliang pays careful attention to cleaning crabs. <\/p>\n

ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He juggles his market and hawker stalls, waking at 6am and finishing past 9pm, reaching home only about 10pm.<\/p>\n

At first, he worked alone. \u201cI thought I could be an octopus,\u201d he says. This led to workflow issues, with him turning away customers or making them wait up to 45 minutes.<\/p>\n

The heat of the kitchen was also difficult to cope with. \u201cI ate five bowls of ice kacang daily during my first week,\u201d he recalls, chuckling.<\/p>\n

He has since hired a part-time assistant, though training takes time.<\/p>\n

He reckons it may take him another five months to break even.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no harm in trying,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I cannot make it, I can close the stall in two years. It is like movie-making. I want to test my limits and see how far I can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has no qualms interacting with people from all walks of life. Some former cellmates have visited his stall to support him. \u201cI am an ordinary person,\u201d he says. \u201cI cannot be more ordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also draws curious stares from passers-by who recognise him. Long-time fans sometimes show up with food and drinks.<\/p>\n

He accepts them graciously with thanks. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very easy to poison me,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

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