Ivan Leong, 37, used to work as an insurance agent — a job with crisp button-ups, perfume, coffee chats, and flexible schedules. Ten years later, as he slices up juicy pork in his own Cantonese roast pork stall, he said that his life now is a far cry from what it was.
Leong started out as an administrative assistant at a recruitment firm, a job he described as “stagnant.” One day in 2013, his colleagues persuaded him to join them in buying lottery tickets.
By a stroke of luck, the lottery ticket he bought with 10 Singapore dollars won him SG$1 million. The sudden windfall gave him the confidence to quit his job, and he gave his one-month notice shortly after.
His first order of business was buying a government-subsidized apartment with his fiancé. Even with the lottery money, buying a condominium or private property was out of the question, he said, as was retiring early.
“Honestly, one million is never enough, especially in Singapore,” Leong said. Singapore, a tiny island in Southeast Asia, is one of the world’s most expensive cities.
Then, after trying his hand at selling insurance products for a couple of years, Leong felt that he wanted to build something of his own and be his own boss for a change.
“In Singapore, if you start an F&B business, you can be a boss straight away. It’s the fastest way,” he said with a laugh.
He said that he loved cooking as a kid, particularly during Lunar New Year. To get back into it, he cut his teeth at his friend’s roast pork shop in Singapore’s Ang Mo Kio neighborhood.
In 2018, he and his wife opened their own roast pork, or char siu, shop in Bukit Merah, a residential area in the south of Singapore. Over the next few years, he would close his original outlet and open two others — one in Woodlands and another in Ang Mo Kio, both of which are residential districts.
Now, he easily spends 11 to 12 hours behind the counter daily. Feeding a hungry lunch crowd means reaching his stall at 7 a.m. daily, and he rarely leaves before 6 p.m.
The roast pork in question
Some key things set Leong’s roast pork apart.
He said that he had always found char siu in other restaurants disappointing and laden with food coloring. He also did not like that customers could not choose the type of meat they wanted.
For him, good char siu meant roasting the meat for up to two hours in a charcoal oven instead of the regular 45 minutes. He also lets patrons choose between three different types of pork: fatty, lean, or half-fat.
For Leong, an average day involves earning around $1,500 from each outlet. In terms of meat, that means selling five slabs of roast pork, 60-80 strips of char siu, and about seven whole chickens.
I got the SG$8 “trio” dish to sample all three types of meat he sold at his stall. The dish consisted of chicken and two types of pork over fragrant rice, with fresh cucumbers and a bowl of hot soup.
The crackling pork skin was super crispy, balanced out by the tender meat under it.
The char siu itself was tender and coated with a sticky glaze, which paired well with the fragrant rice.
The third meat, the roasted chicken, was light and a good break from all the pork. The quantity was generous — I ended up taking most of it away in a doggy bag.
The most surprising part of the dish was the clear soup. It was salty, warm, and comforting, with boiled slices of vegetables at the bottom. It was a good contrast to all the meat.
Leong’s regulars said his char siu was unlike those they’d had before.
Eddie Soh, 36, said that he’s been eating at Leong’s stall weekly since 2019. He said that Leong “raised the bar” for char siu for him, and he seldom eats the dish at other eateries.
Soh, an IT product manager, added that Leong’s roast pork has become a staple in his Lunar New Year reunion dinners. He sometimes buys “as much as 2kg of char siu and 2kg of roast pork” for his family.
Andrew Ong, a 49-year-old officer with the Singapore Armed Forces, said he found Leong’s stall last year and has been having it about thrice a week since.
Ong said the sides are just as good. The flavorful rice and jammy eggs, which deviate from the usual hard-boiled eggs served with char siu, add to its appeal.
It’s not just regulars who rave about it — numerous food bloggers in Singapore have reported on Leong’s stall.
Sethlui.com, a prominent local food publication, said in a July review of Char Siu Lang that the pork was “caramelized to perfection” and could compete with bigger Chinese food establishments.
In Singapore, small stalls like Leong’s are known to serve world-class fare, including some that have been included in the Michelin Guide.
But for Leong, the endgame looks like getting out of the kitchen
For Leong, trading corporate life for days sweating in front of a charcoal oven was tough, with everything from time management to his physical appearance having to adapt.
“Lifestyle-wise, when I was doing financial advisory, I dressed up, used perfume, and wore all the brands. But in the shop, I just wear whatever is comfortable, maybe a pair of shorts, my company T-shirt, and I need to wear safety boots,” he said.
The insurance job also allowed for more flexibility, where he could just “push the appointment, change the timings” for client meetings. But reaching his stall at 7 a.m. daily is a schedule that requires discipline.
So, when asked about the future of the business, Leong immediately answered, “My endgame is to sell the business to big organizations.”
He said the long work hours are not something he thinks he can sustain long term.
But a return to a corporate job is off the table, he said. He wants to sell something of his own, explore new business ventures, and not have to answer to anyone.
“I would love to know, be able to do other things, not only spend my time in the store,” Leong said. “In times to come, I really need to take a step back because I really feel like I spend too much time in this business.”
