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Singapore, May 23, 2010- Take one successful family-run Teochew eatery, Liang Kee Restaurant, set up in the 1970s at the now-defunct Ellenborough Market near today’s Central mall. Add in sons who take over it when the founder dies. Throw in a female Taiwanese business partner. Stir. The mix sours. Result: three separate eateries, all with various versions of the original Liang Kee Restaurant name. It all makes for a large helping of confusion for hapless diners. The three restaurants are Liang Kee Restaurant, which has the closest family connection to the original and which has moved several times to end up at Whampoa West; Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee Restaurant, which opened last month in Havelock Road; and G7 Liang Kee Restaurant, also in Havelock Road, which has been in business for 11 years, although none of the founder’s sons is now involved in it. The original Liang Kee Restaurant was opened in 1974 by Mr Ng Bak Liang, a Teochew immigrant from China. Its location, at Ellenborough Market, was famous for housing many Teochew eateries. Liang Kee made its name with signature dishes such as Triggerfish with bean sauce and Teochew-style braised duck. The restaurant was a family-run business and Mr Ng’s children – six sons and four daughters – helped out at the stall. When he died in 1984, four of his sons continued to run it, including the third son, Mr Ng Siang Lin, and fifth son, Mr Ng Hong Seng. Hong Seng took a liking to the restaurant business and, two years later, opened a Teochew eatery, Mu Liang Zai, in the same market, but one storey above the family’s original business. He says: “Many diners frequented the market so we did not have to fight each other for customers.” His stall later moved to the Murray Terrace food alley in Murray Street. Things simmered along nicely until 1999, when the original Liang Kee moved to Havelock Road. Siang Lin brought in a joint business partner and friend, Madam Liu Hsiao Fang, a Taiwanese based here, and asked Hong Seng to join him as he needed help in the kitchen. The latter agreed and closed his shop in Murray Terrace. But Siang Lin says the working relationship with his Taiwanese partner soured. He declined to elaborate. So, in 2001, Siang Lin and Hong Seng moved Liang Kee Restaurant to Robertson Quay. But his younger brother is giving Madam Liu a run for her money by opening a reincarnation of his upstart Ellenborough eatery, Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee, on the same road as her place, last month. Hong Seng says he uses Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee because he wants to distinguish himself from the others. “Mu Liang is my father’s name in Mandarin and Mu Liang Zai means ‘son of Mu Liang’. When I left to start my own shop in 1986, that was the name I used,” says the 50-year-old in Mandarin. Siang Lin, 54, on the other hand, says he has kept the name Liang Kee because he wants to preserve his father’s reputation. As for Madam Liu, 54, she says: “To avoid confusion, I added G7 in front of the restaurant’s name. The ‘G’ stands for ‘good’ and seven is my lucky number.” She adds that although the Ng brothers left, the other cooks that stayed on are adept at cooking Teochew food. Indeed, her restaurant became so popular that it took over an adjacent shophouse unit a few years ago and boasts a 36-seat private dining room. To differentiate her restaurant, she also introduced new interpretations of Teochew cuisine, including pomfret done two ways: the meat stir-fried with ginger, onion and wolfberries, and the fish bone fried till crispy with salt and pepper. Business was thriving, too, at Liang Kee in Robertson Quay, but the rent, which more than tripled over the years, made it tough for the brothers to stay on. While Siang Lin relocated the restaurant to Whampoa West, Hong Seng says of his decision to open an eatery just a few doors down from the one he used to work in, that it is just coincidence. He opened there because the rent is reasonable and it is close to his home, he insists. But he says his customers have been mistaking the nearby G7 Liang Kee, his old stamping ground, for his new restaurant. “We have had customers who book tables with us and then end up at G7 Liang Kee because they are confused. Others also ask if we are the original Liang Kee,” he says. Madam Liu, however, says her business has not been affected by Mu Liang Zai’s opening and she believes there is enough room for different players. Customers such as housewife Molly Yeo, 70, who used to patronise Liang Kee at Robertson Quay, however, have been confused by all the movement and names. She says: “I chanced by Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee recently and I wasn’t sure if it was the Liang Kee I knew. But its menu pictures reminded me of the Robertson Quay outlet so I gave it a try. The food tastes the same.” She adds that she is aware a Liang Kee opened recently in Whampoa West, but she is uncertain if it is an imitator and has yet to try it out. Other customers have their own favourites. Businessman Soh Khay Ming, 64, who has dined at Liang Kee in Ellenborough Market and in Robertson Quay, still prefers G7 Liang Kee Restaurant. He says: “The food does not differ very much from one restaurant to the other, but G7 Liang Kee edges out the competition with its good service.” G7 LIANG KEE RESTAURANT MU LIANG ZAI LIANG KEE RESTAURANT LIANG KEE RESTAURANT
Madam Liu took over the Havelock Road restaurant and renamed it G7 Liang Kee.
This year, Liang Kee Restaurant upped sticks yet again and moved to Whampoa West, with Siang Lin still running things.
Address: 737 Havelock Road
Tel: 6278-7026/9733-7595
Opening Hours: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 5 to 10.30pm daily
What: While traditional Teochew dishes remain staples, the menu at Madam Liu Hsiao Fang’s eatery also offers new concoctions such as pomfret done two ways ($6 for 100g) and Teochew double-shell cold crab (from $20)
Address: 719 Havelock Road
Tel: 6272-3182
Opening Hours: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 5.30 to 10pm, closed on Mondays
What: Popular picks at chef-owner Ng Hong Seng’s eatery
include steamed Teochew pomfret ($6 for 100g) and Triggerfish with bean sauce (from $26)
Address: Block 34 Whampoa West, 01-27
Tel:6297-7789
Opening Hours: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6 to 10pm daily
What: Led by chef-owner Ng Siang Lin, the eatery has signature dishes such as Teochew cold crab ($6 for 100g) and steamed garoupa ($6 for100g)
