Ho Pheng Corner cafe in Taman Desa Wira is usually still waking up when the first clang of a wok rings out from the back. Before the early breakfast crowd begins to arrive, 26-year-old Bryan Tian is already at his frying station, and he jokes that his wok is like a school bell - only instead of calling students to class, it announces that the first orders have started coming in.
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Source: DayakDaily — Bryan Tian at his frying station
Tian did not start out as his own boss. After leaving school, he spent three years as an intern at a local Kuching eatery, learning noodle work and kitchen management, before his employers gave him their blessing to open his own station. He left on good terms and built his stall at the back of Ho Pheng Corner, where the cafe's regulars have since made him part of the neighbourhood's morning routine.
His board runs on the usual trio - mee kuning (yellow noodles), bee hoon and kueh tiaw - but the plate people keep returning for is his Cantonese-style fried kueh tiaw. It is also the one he encourages you to push further: ask for prawns or crab meat and he will fold them in, adjusting the portion to whatever you tell him when you order.
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Source: DayakDaily — fried kueh tiaw and Cantonese-style kueh tiaw at Bryan Tian's stall
His own recommendation is quieter but just as telling: a Foochow-style noodle dish in savoury broth, lifted by a few drops of Chinese wine at the end. Where the kueh tiaw shows off, this bowl shows restraint - steady, savoury cooking of the kind he says he wants to keep doing for the Desa Wira crowd next door.
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Source: DayakDaily — Foochow-style noodle with Chinese wine broth
His sister, a baker, joins him at the station whenever she has time, and the two siblings talk about opening their own eatery one day. Until then, the wok at the back of Ho Pheng Corner is the whole show: busiest before the midday close, and worth phoning ahead for if you want a bigger order ready when you arrive.
The stall sits at the back of Ho Pheng Corner, Taman Desa Wira, and runs daily from 7am to 12pm, closed Mondays. For enquiries call 010-388 6135.
Location: Ho Pheng Corner, Taman Desa Wira, Kuching
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