I’m Xin En from CNBC.
My last name is Chan. I’m Hawker Chan.
And we’re here for the world’s cheapest one-star Michelin meal.
This is Mr Chan and we are at his stall in the heart of Singapore’s Chinatown.
The humble Mr Chan, who calls himself Hawker Chan, has received one Michelin star from
the world’s most prestigious food guide for two years in a row.
More importantly, he has also created the world’s cheapest one-Michelin star meal.
This plate of succulent chicken and rice costs just $1.50, a third of what a Big Mac in Singapore would cost.
And he hasn’t raised prices since he opened eight years ago.
So how does he manage to make the world’s cheapest one-star meal?
We went into his kitchen to find out what makes his business tick.
It may look like a small operation but it’s a thriving business.
The two stores in Chinatown use 154 pounds of barbecued pork in a day,
which is marinated overnight and barbecued every day.
The restaurant also uses 33 pounds of vegetables, 33 pounds of rice,
22 pounds of noodles and 22 pounds of chilli sauce everyday.
Hawker Chan concentrates on making his award- winning chicken, tasting and preparing the sauce.
He puts various ingredients into 13 gallons of secret sauce,
arranges the chickens in a certain order in this giant pot, and covers it for about 20 minutes.
Finally, Hawker Chan lets me into one little secret of his trade, how to rub maltose on the chicken.
Like it’s your boyfriend. Slowly, slowly.
The chef says, love this chicken like you love your boyfriend.
Hawker Chan sells 90 of his lovingly massaged chickens a day at his original stall,
which is just nine feet by six feet wide.
The original outlet makes about S$2,000 a day roughly $1,500.
That comes to a whopping $36,000 in revenue in a month.
That sounds like a lot, but after taking away the costs of his raw materials like chicken and pork,
the salaries of his employees, utilities and rent he told me that he makes a profit margin of just 10 to 15%.
Food and Michelin stars make for big business in Singapore.
Since gaining a star, Mr Chan has partnered with Hersing Culinary, a Singapore-based company
which also owns the franchising rights to Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred dim sum eatery Tim Ho Wan.
Hersing sunk in S$1 million, or $700,000, for the first air-conditioned Hawker Chan restaurant.
There are now three outlets in Singapore, two in Taiwan, two in Thailand
and another due to open in Australia by the end of this year.
You would imagine that the Michelin hype might have died down after a year,
but there is so much demand for Hawker Chan’s chicken rice that there is a line every single day.
Hawker Chan said that last year, customers would have to queue four to five hours for a plate of chicken rice.
For the full one Michelin star experience, I decide to join in the queue.
When you have a queue this long, reselling is strictly prohibited.
After about 40 minutes of waiting, I finally get my coveted chicken.
The verdict?
Silky, smooth and really flavorful chicken.
Celebrity chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay are both known
for their love of Singapore’s Hawker centers and its cheap, good quality food.
Singapore is gaining recognition as a global food hub with a total of 47 Michelin stars
awarded to restaurants this year, an increase of 12 stars from last year.
It still has a long way to catch up with Asian food capitals like Tokyo, which has more than 300 stars,
but there’s no doubt that the Michelin stars will make the food business in Singapore even bigger than it is today.
For now, I’ll be thanking my lucky stars that I get to eat this one-star Michelin meal for $1.50.
Thanks Chef Chan!