38: Why we left the hawker trade | Hung Zhen Long & Jason Chua, owners of Beng Who Cooks

Hung Zhen Long & Jason Chua: “We enjoyed the hawker life, but we were thinking that we cannot do it for a long time. Back then, our neighbouring stalls were all old people who have been doing this for 40-50 years – they have been doing it since they were young. A lot of them are now actually having a lot of health problems. We want to work towards financial freedom – everyone’s dream – and having more work-life balance. If we are hawkers until we are old, we can foresee ourselves being in a position where we have health problems due to a lack of regular meals. Sometimes we did not even eat back then. We felt stagnant as hawkers and saw that we had to do something on a bigger scale.” Hung & Chua, owners of the restaurant Beng Who Cooks, share about the name of their business, plus: *The motivation behind their community-mindedness* *Why they decided not to sell traditional food at their stall* *Beng Who Cares foundation* *Why they chose to leave the hawker life behind* *The transition from hawkers to restaurant owners*