Meet Michael Ho, the visionary founder behind Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle, a beloved local brand with 10 branches islandwide and counting. Known for its mouthwatering prawn noodles with signature pork delights, the business has become a household name among food lovers in Singapore.
Driven by passion and a commitment to culinary excellence, Michael’s entrepreneurial journey is a testament to his dedication to bringing traditional flavours to modern foodies while expanding his brand across the island. All these in less than one year. How did he do it? Read his story.
What inspired you to start Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle, and how did you come up with this unique concept?
Before this, I was doing a beef noodle concept called HORIGINAL Beef Noodle. I did it for about four years, but the results were pretty bad. Although it was quite popular in its own way—where beef noodle lovers would patronise the place—the demand for beef noodles is very, very small. It’s a niche market.
I had tried various noodle food mix concepts, but prawn noodle was something I had never attempted. I believed there was good demand, and I was proven correct. The concept of Porky Prawn Noodle came about because I named it “Porky Prawn”—it’s not purely a prawn meal or noodle dish.
I added various pork parts, creating a very old-school type of pork noodle mix. Why Sixth Avenue? At that point, I was in a bad financial situation. One of my favourite coffee shop operators helped me secure a small stall there. It just happened that he gave me that location, and I decided to name it Sixth Avenue Porky Prawn Noodle.
What sets your prawn noodles apart from other prawn noodle stores in Singapore?
Number one, we prepare the broth in a very different way. I was a food manufacturer, so I get everything fried in a central kitchen or food factory. For each batch, we fry about 150 kg of ingredients at a low temperature for 8 to 9 hours to extract all the essence. After that process, we only manage to extract about 45 kg.
Then we mix this with our pork broth, which takes close to six hours to prepare. It contains five to six ingredients, such as pork bones and pork skin. We mix these two together, and the whole process takes over 10 hours. We use precise measurements for everything.
Another difference is the variety of pig innards inside, making our prawn noodles stand out compared to other players.
Going to 10 outlets is a very impressive feat. What challenges do you face in expanding your business, and how do you overcome them?
As everybody knows, operating costs are very high. Operating costs come in three components: stall expenses, manpower, and raw materials. For stall expenses, there’s not much we can do except minimise utility costs.
For manpower, the issue is that locals don’t often want to work in this trade, so we rely more on foreign workers for now. For raw materials, the good thing is that we do mass procurement, giving us a slightly lower price compared to competitors.
How do you ensure the quality and consistency of your food across all your outlets?
Most of our items come from the food factory, so temperature control is essential. Key components like sauces, chili, and pork lard are prepared in the central kitchen. What determines good execution at the stall level is how well the staff is trained and practiced.
We ensure quality by making the SOP as practical as possible and continuously training our staff. Practice makes perfect.
What role does customer feedback play in shaping your menu and operations?
As we are still new, I’m always open to feedback and highlights. All our stall ICs take feedback and reviews seriously. We have small discussions almost every week to adjust and improve based on feedback.
Do you have any plans to introduce new dishes or expand overseas?
I have been looking at Batam and JB because they have good shrimp sources. I hope it can work out. I used to be in Jakarta for three to four years running a fishball factory, but that was nearly 10 years ago. This time, maybe I’ll try to go back to making fishballs again.
What advice would you give to aspiring food entrepreneurs to grow and expand their brand?
If you’re talking about being a hawker trader, I would advise learning from someone with experience. Experience comes from understanding how to manage the business, execute operations, handle food costing, and carefully select a suitable location for the stall.
Where do you see yourself, and what’s your vision for Singapore in the next five years?
I’ve been in the food manufacturing business since 2005, so I’m familiar with the hawker scene. I’ll continue trying new food concepts. This year, I’ll likely return to what I’m strong at—manufacturing fishballs, specifically 100% yellowtail fishballs. After that, I’d love to try rice dishes, possibly in the form of chicken rice or even a claypot series that goes with rice.
In the food or hawker business, consumer trends are shifting toward malls and commercial places. I foresee sales at the 1,300 coffee shops and hawker centers declining by about 20% to 30%.
More experienced operators are leaving the scene, while larger food groups are taking over commercialised hawker centres. The same trend applies to coffee shops. Unless stall expenses and manpower costs decrease, it will be tough for new or promising players to enter the market.
