Written by: Muhammad Rifdi
The rain bucketed down mercilessly on the East Coast Lagoon Food Village on a Saturday afternoon. The hawker centre was jam-packed with people cramming their way into the sheltered areas, fighting to stay dry. On another Saturday, you could hear the ringing of bicycle bells or the rolling wheels of roller blades from the bustling East Coast Park adjacent to the food village. But not today. The downpour drowned out all the other noise; except the almost deafening yells from hawkers and the roaring chatters of diners as they indulged in their mouth-watering food. The ambience gave the hawker centre a life of its own.
Countless long queues formed throughout the hawker centre, but one stall in particular was visibly busier than the ones around it. Two workers from the stall, Haron Satay, were frantically taking orders, trying their hardest to serve the queue that just seemed to keep growing. Another three workers were showering in sweat as they braved barbecue smoke to hurriedly grill batch after batch of satays.
Since it was opened over 40 years ago by Haron bin Abu Bakar, Haron Satay has had a shift in ownership once. Haron bin Abu Bakar was the original founder of the satay recipe. When he passed in 2016, his daughter Harlina, who is currently 50-years-old, took over the stall fully and she remains in charge until today. Since it opened in 1980, the stall has grown to be a popular go-to satay spot for many Singaporeans.
From the snaking queue in front of the stall, it could be seen that Haron Satay has a diverse mix of customers of all ages and races.
One of them was 24-year-old Azrifh Zikry. He shared, “My parents brought me here to eat satay since I was a child. Since then, this is the only place I can eat satay. If I eat satay somewhere else, I find myself comparing it to Haron’s and realising that no other stall matches the satay here.”
Another customer, 54-year-old Michael Quek, shared that he has been a regular customer at Haron Satay since it opened. He was living in East Coast at the time, so it was a convenient spot for his family to have meals. He added that as he grew older, Haron Satay was no longer a “secret dinner spot” for his family as recognition for the stall has only kept growing.
This popularity among the public is also backed up by the many accolades Haron Satay has under its belt. The current owner of Haron Satay, Harlina, shared that in 2022 alone, the stall received the “Most Outstanding Hawker” award from the World Gourmet Awards as well as the “Best Satay Award” from Halal Food Hunt.
Nevertheless, do not let the success fool you. It has not always been smooth sailing for Haron Satay. In 2013, the stall and three other neighbouring stalls suffered heavy damages from a fire that broke out. The fire left all four stalls in tatters. Haron Satay had to close for six months for renovation.
Harlina, said, “It was the biggest setback we had ever faced in our history. Besides the financial cost of damages, we were fearful that for the six months we closed, customers would find alternatives for satay and stick with them. There were also certain equipment and machines in the store that we could not find and replace easily. On top of that, many workers quit as they could not be left jobless for six months.”
Harlina believed back then that the only way to recover was to solve the problems they faced through innovatively thinking. For instance, when operations resumed, the stall solved its manpower issue by adopting a pager system to deal with orders. When customers’ orders are ready, the pager would buzz to inform them that their order is ready for pick-up. This allowed workers to save time by not having to serve orders to tables. Harlina added that since the fire, business has been positive even during Singapore’s Circuit Breaker as Haron Satay started to deliver their satay to homes.
Harlina’s voice became shaky, and tears welled up in her eyes when she started speaking about why she took over the stall from her father instead of giving it up to pursue a more “glamourous” career.
“This stall is what fed me and my family. This is where I spent my childhood, and it has been where I have spent my adulthood. My father may be gone, but I want to ensure my father’s legacy lives on,” Harlina shared.
She was all smiles again when she started talking about Haron Satay’s future. As it stands, she plans on passing on the stall to her 30-year-old niece. Her niece is currently working for Haron Satay as part of the preparation process to take over Haron Satay after Harlina retires.
Harlina said with conviction, “We don’t know what the future holds. But I don’t plan on retiring until my body fails me. We have customers to satisfy and I still have a legacy to uphold.”
