How far would you go to serve your country?
Reader Bao: Two years when I was younger, and then one or two weeks a year until-
No, Mr Bao. I’m not talking about NS. I’m talking about something else – something you volunteer.
Reader Bao: Oh, erm…I pay taxes?
Well, for this 41-year-old prawn noodle hawker of three years, he is willing to quit the job he loves to return to his old job in nursing because of the COVID-19 outbreak, because he knows how much people need him.
Prawn Noodles Hawker Returns To Nursing
Anson Loo, an ex-nurse at the National University Hospital (NUH), has been running a prawn noodle hawker stall for the past three years. He serves Penang-style prawn noodles bursting with flavour using a recipe that was taught to him by a hawker in Penang.
While he has grown to love his current job of serving yummy prawn noodle bowls to his new and regular customers alike, he recognises that it is a time to perhaps give up this business for the greater good of the people and join his healthcare friends in this battle against COVID-19.
He made this announcement on his personal Facebook page, and a circulated screenshot of his post said that this move was “weighted in between [his] passion and what [he] can do for more people”. Of course, such a decision took him “a long while” to make. Thankfully, he had the support from his family, making it a tad easier.
He added in his post that his “healthcare friends are struggling and working even harder to ensure that patients are well taken care of”.
A Kind Heart; Another Unsung Hero
According to 8days, they previously interviewed him at his stall at Golden Mile Food Centre back in 2017.
He mentioned that while he was no longer in nursing, he still carried on with his caring nature, showing extra concern to the elderly in the area.
He wanted them to be able to enjoy a hot bowl of prawn noodles without having to care too much about the price of it, so he deliberately made his prices low, from $5 to $3 a bowl, even if it means that he earns less money.
While other hawkers may choose to only pass on their legendary recipes to trusted family members or employees who have worked for them for a long period of time, Mr Loo decided to put his faith into two university fresh graduates and teach them everything they needed to know about the hawker life.
He taught them for free for two-and-a-half years, and it was his way of contributing back to the community, a way of paying it forward after having been taught the ropes by a Penang prawn noodle hawker a few years back.
It’s definitely difficult to choose between your passion and what you have to do, and while many may not be able to sacrifice their passions so easily, Mr Loo is one who did that, and he should be commended for it.
So thank you, Mr Loo, for your service. You are truly another unsung hero.
