Yong Kee Famous Fishball Noodles Looking to Sell Brand & Recipe for $500K

After 75 years in business, the stall owner of the signature “Yong Kee Famous Fishball Noodles” is preparing to retire.

Lin Yuliang, aged 63, is willing to give up the secret recipe and old signboard for his fishball noodles for $500,000, so as to avoid the loss of this traditional craftsmanship.

Humble Beginnings

Many years ago, Mr Lin used to sell fishball noodles with his father at Havelock, and each bowl of noodles only cost two cents.

After he took over the noodle stall, he moved the business to ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre in 1974, where it still remains today.

During an interview with Shin Min Daily News, he revealed that he dropped out of school in Primary 3 to help out and began to learn how to make fishballs at 15. Not only did he inherit his skills from his father, but he also secretly learned under other teachers.

He proudly declared that his fishballs were completely made out of fresh sweet potato and fish meat, and he never uses fish paste or fish meal.

He pinches 3,000 fishballs every day, believing that every mundane task should be completed with utmost perfection.

Hence, he wakes up at 8am every morning to open the stall, only to close up at 11pm at night, after he has prepared all the fishballs for the next day. He only rests on Tuesdays.

Mr Lin said that he was getting on with his years and the fatigue was catching up to him.

After personally making more than 3,000 fishballs every day, his hands tend to become numb and his waist aches.

Thus, he has started thinking about retiring recently.

Mr Lin’s hands must be made out of steel, or a better mimicry of those satisfying videos about factory machines. Someone filmed his working progress and make him YouTube famous!

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Alas, the stall owner fears that the culinary skills his father passed down to him will be lost if he just retires like this.

If he is able to find someone who is willing to take over the stall, he will pass down the secret recipe for making the fishballs and the signboard. He intends to teach his successor the necessary skills and hand over the stall within three months.

When asked about the price, Mr Lin hopes that someone will offer a starting bid of $500,000.

If he can get along well with the other party, the exact figure can be negotiated again.

Apart from Yong Kee Famous Fishball Noodles, Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles at Block 73 Toa Payoh Lorong 2 and Xi Jiang Porridge at 57 Eng Boon Street are also looking for bidders to sell their recipe and brand to.

All three stalls are asking for the same price of $500,000.

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Featured Image: Google Maps