Remember the ah beng duo who grabbed hearts and headlines during the circuit breaker by offering free food to "those who were unable to put food on the table”, no questions asked?
What they did earned them a nomination and then a special commendation for the President's Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards 2020 Special Edition - Our Finest Hour in the City of Good.
They were even invited to the Istana last month to meet President Halimah Yaacob!
28-year-old Jason Chua and 27-year-old Hung Zhen Long – self-professed ah bengs – previously served up Singaporean-style Poké bowls at their hawker stall at Hong Lim Food Centre.
We say “previously”, because they have since shuttered their hawker stall and have opened up a brand new restaurant at Neil Road, Beng Who Cooks @39.
Their new space at Neil Road is a massive change from their previous hawker centre setting. The restaurant’s industrial theme is modern with the concrete walls and floors, minimalistic furnishings and a shiny new kitchen.
With this new place, Jason and Zhen Long wanted to change up their menu and adopt a brand new concept.
Instead of serving the same menu and dishes from day to night, the new space will be a bistro in the day and morph into a fine-dining restaurant at night, with two completely different menus.
The daytime menu will cater more to the office crowd and gym junkies, while dinner will be done up degustation style.
Fine dining food may seem completely different from what the duo is used to serving up, but Jason says that is something that they both need and want to do to challenge themselves.
The degustation menu, which is priced at $60 for six courses, will be done omakase style, and they plan to switch up the menu every once in a while.
For now, expect dishes with intriguing names such as Crab's Well (blue swimmer crab, soya sauce ikura, parmesan chips and tomato soup), Underlying Balls (marinated mozzarella pearls, serrano ham, concasse cherry tomatoes, pesto sauce) and The Playful Experiment, which on the menu comes with this description: "You’ll never know what you’re having for the night… Neither do we."
Expect something more familiar for lunch – rice and salad bowls priced between $7.50 to $15 – but not a replica of what they used to serve in Hong Lim. Instead, you can expect to see some brand new creations, such as the Bak Chor Bowl.
Do note, however, that the new restaurant is not Halal-certified, unlike their Hong Lim stall.
Beng Who Cooks is located at 39 Neil Rd, Singapore 088823. Lunch is from 11am to 3pm, while dinner will be served from 7pm to 10pm with the last seating at 8.30pm.