Popular snack stall Rolina Traditional Hainanese Curry Puff is back with daughter of former owner at the helm

FIANCE LEFT AUTOMOBILE SALES JOB TO BECOME FULL-TIME HAWKER

When Jolene’s fiance, Wei Lun, learned of her father’s concerns about her ability to manage the stall on her own, he gamely stepped up to the challenge. “I’ve always been someone who’s keen to try new stuff. (Working together) is also a good opportunity to get to know each other better,” said the 23-year-old former automobile salesman.

The jovial first-time hawker who has “zero cooking experience” confesses that the past couple of months have been tough. “I’ve lost 6kg already!” he declared playfully.

Jolene chimed in to share that he has been incredibly helpful with “all the heavy tasks, like frying and steaming” – a huge improvement from his early days as a complete kitchen newbie. 

Papa Bren cheekily added “At first, their faces were so black every day! I told her ‘Don’t scold him so much, later he run away and don’t help you anymore’.” These days, Jolene insists there have been “fewer scoldings” and Wei Lun’s performance has been “so far so good”.

“He’s been very supportive from the start. I was very worried for him as he seemed so exhausted in the first few days. We’re doing much better now,” she added sweetly.

“I’LL LET MY CUSTOMERS ASSESS THEIR QUALITY”

So how does the senior hawker rate his Gen Z successors? “I won’t assess them, I’ll let my customers assess them,” he said simply.

According to Bren, the feedback has been quite positive so far. He also visits the stall for a few hours on most days to ‘supervise’ the couple as they get used to running the joint. “I’ll just tell them what to look out for, how to control the heat etc. Other than that, I’ve completely handed over the stall to my daughter. I’ve transferred the ownership to her and she handles all the finances now,” he said.