In today’s society, it’s hard to find an iced drink for under S$2 even at a coffee shop. However, in Kovan, there’s a hawker couple who sell soya bean milk, grass jelly, and bird’s nest drinks for just 30 cents a cup.
Husband-and-wife team Goh Kai Suah and Chua Choon Huay have been running their stall Sun Kee Drinks at Kovan 209 Market & Food Centre since 1984, for almost 40 years. Despite their low prices, their drinks are of decent quality and have earned them a loyal following of customers. Although they only operate from 6am to 1pm, they are usually almost sold out by noon, with customers who stop by to buy a drink appearing to know them well.
Goh and Chua have kept their prices constant for almost four decades, which is admirable considering inflation. Chua joked, “We are not working for a bungalow,” but candidly shared that they can survive if there are customers. They have a basic business principle of selling a high quantity at low prices, which seems to work well for them. Despite their low profit margin, they have a thriving business with queues that seem to never end on weekends.
Their drinks are priced at S$0.30 for a small-sized cup and S$0.50 for a larger cup, with bird’s nest drink being the only one that they make themselves, a process that involves boiling pandan leaves. Although the bird’s nest drink is diluted, it is still pandan-scented and refreshing. The soya bean milk is reasonably thick, and the grass jelly drink is also refreshing enough despite being slightly thinner in consistency than a similar beverage from other hawker stalls that charge more.
Despite the challenges of being a hawker, Goh and Chua have remained grateful and have not forgotten their humble beginnings. Goh’s father started the business in the 1950s as a pushcart along nearby Upper Serangoon Road, and Chua pointed out that it was much harder being a hawker back then. They feel fortunate to have it good now and have a thriving business that they’ve built over the years.
