Reviving Old Memories

Written by Tan Wen Hui
Tuesday July 22 2008


In an aggressive battle against rising food and pump prices, self-acclaimed chicken rice chili proprietor Mr Derek Chen, who runs The Big Bird Restaurant at Balmoral Plaza, has made substantive plans to reestablish his restaurant business back at Selegie.

The jovial 60-Year-Old businessman, who has been in the food and beverage (F&B) industry for almost two decades, has finally made his move last month to conquer over two store units on the second floor of Paradiz Centre at Selegie Road since his flopped business partnership venture which eventually forced him to close down his Selegie outlet in 2000.

Mr Chen was also left heavily in debt and had to be declared a bankrupt as he could not afford to pay the incurred debts accumulated by his partner as a result of poor sales.

"When we first started out with this business which we opened at Selegie, customers frequented us because they found our chicken rice chili sauce good. I was then, preparing the sauces till we decided to expand our business to Balmoral Plaza." Reminisced Mr Chen with a smile spread across his sun-beatened face as he leaned over the second floor banister at Paradiz Centre outside his future outlet, hands clasped as he reminisced over his days back at Selegie Road.

"After our expansion, which was a year after we started out venture, I decided to move over to run the Balmoral outlet. That's when business here at Selegie started to take a downturn as the sauces and dishes prepared by my partner differed alot in taste than mine. So while business at Balmoral remained healthy, business at Selegie dropped."

After four years of struggling to cope with poor chicken rice and chili sales due to the unmatched quality in dishes and sauces prepared by Mr Chen's partner, both men decided to end their four years of partnership, which saw the winding down of The Big Bird Restaurant's Selegie outlet.

However, Mr Chen decided to continue on with his pursuit in making delectable chicken rice and chili sauces for his customers.

"Since I've been in this line for a substantive number of years, I might as well continue running it and push to perfect the quality of my rice, chicken and chili." Wreathed Mr Chen delightfully.

Today, business at Balmoral Plaza is bustling with customers, especially during lunch hour. Patrons from all woks of lives, including the young schoolboys from the nearby Anglo Chinese School (ACS) Barker Road campus, would flock down to The Big Bird Restaurant and savor Mr Chen's delectable chicken rice chili sauce on steamed chicken rice.

His wife, Besty, would lend him a helping hand by serving as his restaurant manager while he remains busy in his kitchen, coaching his son on how to prepare his daily dishes while he works hard to further improve on his métier courses.

To date, Mr Chen has whipped up some 30 odd dishes ranging from his savory lemon grass chicken rice down to the coolest yet crispy acres of his cold crab.

In addition, he has also conjured eight uniquely flavored chili sauces, with his chicken rice chili sauce remaining as his restaurant's top selling sauce.

Each bottle is sold for SGD 8 and is only available at The Big Bird Restaurant.


Tan: You seem to enjoy the art of preparing dishes. What was it which got you first interested in F&B?

Mr Chen: Initially, I started preparing chili for my family. That was when I got more engrossed in what I was doing and aim to perfect my chili. Later, I experimented my chili out on chicken rice and likewise, aimed to perfect my dishes. Only after all these three elements were made perfect, I decided to open up The Big Bird with my partner, who at that time, was helping me out with the experiments.

Tan: How well-known was The Big Bird back then at Selegie? Was it similar to household brands like 'Ayam Brand'?

Mr Chen: Quite well-known. Business was packed before I took over running the Balmoral outlet.

Tan: When your initial outlet at Selegie Road first folded, what were the challenges faced apart from monetary issues and how did you cope with these challenges?

Mr Chen: Business at Balmoral was as usual as most of our regulars would come down to support us. The only inconvenience is that customers are unable to locate us at Balmoral when they visit us for the first time there. And it is also difficult to travel down to Balmoral as the nearest MRT station is a far walk down to us, so we ended up losing some of our regulars.

Tan: With your new outlet reopening back at Selegie but at a different location, will business be just as good as before? Also, what was it that inspired you to reopen business at Selegie, especially at during this time of the year when inflation rates are soaring, not to mention that petrol imports are increasing?

Mr Chen: We were running The Big Bird back then at Selegie, to improve our current business, my wife and I decided to open back an outlet there so customers within that area could come down to savor our tasty chicken, rice and chili.

Tan: What do you perceive of the future of The Big Bird in another 10 years time?

Mr Chen: (Laughs) Luck! Without luck, no matter how good your business is, you won't succeed. That's why some stores which sell lousy food manages to remain strong because of luck! So more luck!

Tan: Any last parting words/thoughts to your customers?

Mr Chen: We'll continue making the best chili and dishes because we're already the best!