Old Chang Kee

Old Chang Kee (official website) is a well recognised food and beverage chain that originated in Singapore. It is well-known for its Hainanese-style curry puffs and assorted fried snacks. As of 2019, Old Chang Kee has 77 outlets in Singapore. Over the years, it has also expanded to Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and United Kingdom, selling approximately 1.5 million curry puffs a month worldwide. According to the official annual report for Old Chang Kee in 2018, the brand had made SGD$85,487,000 that financial year.

Origins

In 1956, Chang Chuan Boon, a Hainanese foreigner opened a food stall at Koek Road (currently located between Orchard Point and Orchard Plaza). The stall sold Hainanese-style curry puffs, a fried pastry filled with chicken, egg and potatoes, infused with a variety of herbs and spices. Chang then moved his stall from Koek Road to Albert Street. In 1973, Chang opened another stall outside Rex Cinema along Mackenzie Road. This stall is officially recognised as the first flagship stall of Old Chang Kee. The stall in Albert Street became the main manufacturer of the curry puffs. The uncooked curry puffs were then delivered to the stall outside Rex Cinema and were fried to order. The curry puffs were very popular among the locals and it became widely known as the “Rex Curry Puff”. In 1981, the Albert Street stall was relocated by the Environment Ministry in a move to re-home street-side hawkers into food centres.

In 1986, Chang decided to stop working and return to China. Han Keen Juan then bought over the business from Chang at a sum of SGD$70,000 through a group of shareholders and named the stall “Old Chang Kee” to stand out from the other curry puff stalls at Rex Cinema.

Growth in Singapore

Mr. Han Keen Juan (right) pictured in front of the Old Chang Kee stall at Rex Cinema, Mackenzie Road in the 1980s. Photo from SG Magazine.

In the early years of Old Chang Kee under the leadership of Han Keen Juan, there were other individuals who contributed to the growth of the brand. Han's cousin, Bugs Tan flew to Sri Lanka and India to study spices to ensure that the quality of the curry puffs remain consistent. Han’s nephew, William Lim contributed SGD$5,000 for advertising purposes after the stakeholders refused to invest for the project. After 10 years of training from Han, William Lim eventually became the Chief Executive officer of the company. He helped to strategise for new projects by following the changing taste and preferences of consumers.  

By 1991, there were 12 Old Chang Kee branches in Singapore and customers had also started to order in bulk. Han later shifted the manufacturing of curry puffs to a bigger factory in Ubi. He implemented new food production technologies such as electric dough mixers and automated potato peelers to regulate the quality of the curry puffs. The factory was able to manufacture more than 10,000 curry puffs a day. He later provided capital for a 20,000 sq. feet modernised manufacturing amenity in Woodlands. From 1989 to 1991, Old Chang Kee's yearly revenue had risen from SGD$700,000 to SGD$1,600,000. In 1992, Han was given the title of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” and “Small Scale Entrepreneur” from the Rotary Club and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises respectively.

Old Chang Kee Coffee House @ Rex located at the site of the original Mackenzie Road stall. Photo from SG Magazine.

By 2002, business in Singapore was performing well. With 33 branches, the company earned an annual revenue of approximately SGD$14,000,000. In 2005, Old Chang Kee attained its Halal certification from Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS). Two years later, the company also received the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) qualification for the production of curry puffs and administered a quality guarantee initiative.

In Singapore, Old Chang Kee outlets are presently located at petrol stations, shopping centres, MRT stations and bus interchanges. In more recent years, Old Chang Kee had expanded their menu to include a variety of food items. They offer a diverse range of food items from fried chicken wings to green bean desserts. The stalls also offer exclusive breakfast food items such as braised bee hoon, porridge and curry vegetables. The company also currently offers delivery and catering services to homes, events and companies. The catering menu offers more nutritious and customisable food items in comparison to the outlets. For example, there are “Healthier Choice” food bundles where wholegrain rice is served.

In 2018, Old Chang Kee opened its flagship 50-seater casual restaurant in Singapore called Old Chang Kee Coffee House @ Rex. The nearest MRT station to the restaurant is Rochor (DT13). The outlet is located where the first Old Chang Kee food stall started at in 1956. On top of the food items that are traditionally sold at other local branches, the restaurant offers special menu items of local dishes such as curry chicken, served with flower bread and baked beef stew rice with cheese.

Expansion overseas

In 1993, Old Chang Kee expanded overseas to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Japan, with the catchphrase “A Taste of Singapore”. By 1997, Old Chang Kee also expanded to Myanmar, South Africa, India and New Zealand. In one and a half years, business in Malaysia and Indonesia earned a revenue of SGD$1,700,000 and SGD$1,000,000 respectively. In 1994, a manufacturing site was built in South Africa. The curry puffs produced were sold and distributed to 60 bars in Cape Town. By 2002, Han had to close down 24 overseas branches in South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, India and Myanmar. The overseas outlets performed poorly due to poor standards of manufacturing. The company faced a loss of approximately SGD$50,000.

Australia

The first Old Chang Kee stall in Australia was launched at Waterford Plaza Shopping Centre, Perth in 2012. It offers similar food items as the outlets in Singapore. The outlet also sells rice sets on weekdays.  

China

In 2008, Han reattempted to open an outlet in China. It was located at YY Sports Mall along Chunxi Road, Chengdu province. Former politician, Mr Koo Tsai Kee and world-renowned singer, JJ Lin were invited to the opening ceremony. The eatery was decorated with paintings inspired by the company’s homeland, Singapore. In the same year, the restaurant closed down due to poor business.

Indonesia

As of 2019, there are five branches in Indonesia, four stalls located at Jakarta and one outlet located at Bintan. For both years 2007 and 2008, Old Chang Kee collaborated with the Indonesian Franchisee and signed a franchise contract. The outlets in Indonesia offer similar food items as the ones in Singapore and offer exclusive drink items such as avocado coffee, taro and brown sugar milk tea.

Malaysia

Storefront of Old Chang Kee in Covent Garden, UK. Photo from Insider Retail Singapore.

In 2005, a manufacturing site was opened in Malaysia to produce seafood menu items such as crab claws and sotong balls. There are currently two branches in Malaysia, located in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor respectively. The outlets provide similar food items in comparison to the local outlets in Singapore. In 2017, it attained the “halal” certification from Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM).

United Kingdom

In June 2017, a pop-up stall was held at Kentish Town in north-west London. Approximately 1,200 puffs were sold in two days. The puffs ran out within four hours on both days. Four months later, Old Chang Kee’s curry puffs were also featured at the “Visiting Singapore” event at London Cocktail week. Ms Sandra Leong, a London-based Singaporean suggested introducing Old Chang Kee’s puffs to the UK. She eventually collaborated with Old Chang Kee to open and manage the branch in Covent Garden, London in 2018. On top of the usual snacks, the eatery serves local Singaporean dishes such as Singapore-style curry chicken, mixed vegetable curry, nasi lemak and laksa. The eatery was subsequently featured in UK print media such as Evening Standard, Daily Express and Times magazine. Notable individuals such as actor Ian McKellen and Malaysian artist Tiara Jacquelina have patronised the London eatery.

Awards

Year	Title
2004	Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) - Singapore Promising Brand Award
2005	SPBA - Heritage Brand Award SPBA - Distinctive Brand Award
2007	Lifelong Learner Award (Corporate Category)
2008	Singapore SGX Catalist
2012	Best Fast-Food Chains in the World
2013	Influential Brands Award
2014	Influential Brands Award
2015	Influential Brands Award
2016	Influential Brands Award
2017	Influential Brands HALL OF FAME

Business partnerships

Year	Business	Description
2008	The Pie Kia Shop	Food stall selling a variety of savoury and sweet pies. The outlets are currently no longer in operation.
2010	Mushroom Cafe	An outdoor eatery located at MacRitchie Reservoir Park that serves both local and international cuisines.
2012	Curry Times	A restaurant that specialises in curry dishes. There is currently 5 outlets island and 1 branch for delivery services.
2013	Dip ‘n’ Go	A fast food stall serving fried snacks located at Woodlands.
2015	Bun Times	A food stall serving Hainanese-style buns. There are 2 outlets at Joo Koon and Tiong Bahru respectively.
2018	O’ My Kampung	A nostalgic village-inspired eatery that serves Asian-inspired food dishes and also sells knick knacks and snacks from past generations. The restaurant is located at Sengkang Riverside Park.
	O’ My Darling	A catering company that provides snacks and prepared food servings.It also provides delivery services for Dip ‘n’ Go. The company also actively participate in charity programmes, community activities and national events. The company is located at Woodlands.