And, when her family came to Jelebu Dry Laksa’s grand opening, “they said they were proud of me. I hardly hear such statements from my mum”. She added, “I think I’ve managed to prove to my family that when I set my mind to it, I can do things.”
Of course, it wasn’t an easy journey. “I had to learn the ropes – what people take maybe eight to 10 years to learn,” she said. “There are a lot of things I stayed up late trying to understand, trying to learn from other chefs who helped me along the way, whether it’s friends or people I’ve worked with.”
Her next big dream is to take the Singapore flavours of Jelebu Dry Laksa as far away as London and New York and be a known name, just like how “people know Old Chang Kee is from Singapore”.
It may sound like a tall order, but hey, “When I first stepped into a kitchen, I never dared to even dream that I would have my own restaurant.”
Jelebu Dry Laksa is at 1 Harbour Front Walk, VivoCity #02-48.