At 26, he has a chain of 35 fried rice stalls | Lunch with Sumiko

Lester Li dropped out of school before he finished his N levels. By the time he was 21, he had opened his first King of Fried Rice stall. He knew from a young age that he would be in F&B.
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[@henrylau116]

Hello Lester, I know your mum, Esther. I remembered when your stall just opened in SK, your mum was recommending it to my wife n myself., and even willingly, to order on our behalf, we rejected as we knew that it needs to wait one hr before it is ready. I remembered she was very proud of your achievement. I'm sure she will be delighted to learn that you now have a chain of 35 stalls, and still counting. I wish you the very best in your business.

[@leewn2319]

Very good interview. My salute & respects to Lester Li. His humble, hard working attitude, simple & focused vision and a heart for charity truest make him a big man despite his young age. 加油Lester and may God bless you and your future.

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

im surprised that the founder is so young. Yes, I've tried the fried rice before too and it was amazing. tbh, I thought that it tasted almost exactly the same as Din Tai Fung's, I thought a chef had left DTF then and set up his own shop hahaha. I feel like this founder certainly has a partner somewhere helping him too with the commercial aspect of it.

[@krisb-travel]

what do you think is making it taste so good do you think? Just curious of your opinion

[@jonathanchia9167]

@@krisb-travel wok hei

[@shanwen88]

How does it taste the same? DTF is more consistent, less oily and just tastes more refined.

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

@@krisb-travel similar to DTF, great taste of egg, and i kinda like the wet texture with stock.

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

@@shanwen88 i last had it about a year ago. my sense was that it tasted almost exactly the same. maybe you have a diff opinion and thats fine.

[@mskan_]

love this guy! such an inspiration to young children out there!

[@doraemon61377]

People see the age but don’t see the hardwork put in the years. Doesn’t matter whether you are 26 or 50, as long as you are successful in setting up a food chain like this…

[@Licoolo]

he seems like a humble and kind hearted dude 🙂 I like the fried rice, it hits the spot. thank you for making it relatively affordable.

[@benjaminvanizshotz295]

No Lester has done many terrible things lol

[@harivarmen]

​@@benjaminvanizshotz295such as?

[@benjaminvanizshotz295]

@@harivarmen he tricked his friend lxx into borrowing money to gamble at the casino

[@harivarmen]

@@benjaminvanizshotz295 Sounds like you know Lester personally. Thanks for letting me know man. I've eaten at his stall multiple times and he seemed somewhat like a nice guy.

[@frostymourne867]

@@harivarmen Dude seems to have a seething hatred towards lester though.. damn.. he has been commenting on several people's replies.

[@fxplusc2]

Bravo to him, from his demeanor and the way he speaks from humblesness. Glad that someone from humble beginning get to make it big from his love of fried rice and from the love of his mum ❤😊 Love his phrase that we cook food to satsify people and we want to hear people say our food is good 😂😂😂 May he soar into greater heights and keep ground to his humble beginnings and contribute back to society

[@poji23]

What an amazing story! There's a saying "It's what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light". This guy must have practiced thousands of times on making fried rice before he can finally show his work to the public with his first stall. Gotta respect that hustle.

[@sebastianniqvist3144]

Great to see q young man succeeding. He looks humble as well. Sometimes the simplest ideas work best; you don’t need to re-invent the wheel.

[@superlogistics1]

Your mum would be so proud, guaranteed. Keep it up !

[@ILovePlayingZeldaGamesOnSwitch]

Amazing fella!

[@littleowlfamily]

Hope to see more successful SG brands ❤

[@nalanat]

All the best to you, Mr Li.

[@WWK186]

Inspiring! Great that there are ways to be successful in Singapore other than the academic route. Being able to contribute to the community is a blessing.

[@beyondthebox8806]

When you get successful people with try to drag you down. Hurt people hurt people. Keep your head up brother! You deserve everything you’ve got because of the hard work and also working smart. Why listen to all the haters when they are only trying to drag you down to their lower levels because of feelings insecurity and jealousy and inadequacy. 😊

[@iMarcism]

There is a branch at buona vista food court under the flats and the fried rice is really good! In the past I will always go to ding tai feng for Pork Cuttlet Fried Rice but noticed their standard has dropped. I always go to this place for my cravings. Cannot recommend enough.

[@wendyalicialye4512]

Your achievements at such young age is admirable. Read the straits time article in 20/8 Sunday Time, you dare try and your hardwork is undeniable.

[@chappali38]

@ nice comment

[@hpchan78]

Incredible. Expanded 10 folds throughout covid period.

[@Kraliezec]

Congratulations on your hard-earned success, dude. I hope to try the food there someday.

[@bangla996]

lol i remember seeing him cooking at the shop at beach road. good job in growing it so quickly!!

[@NC-un7tr]

Thank you. Very inspiring. Hope he open branch here at Jurong west

[@chappali38]

Hi

[@oliveong8705]

Amazing achievement 😊

[@MrLloydtheman]

Must support more, such humble attitude

[@gosikh]

I love these stories

[@westdoor123]

Good for him.

[@kenlek869]

Well done to him.!

[@choosim6858]

he isnt only 26, hes been working since 16, full time. thats 10 years of hard, labour of love.

[@MrRovoLova]

He's not the one who grew it to 35 stalls. he only had 1 stall in Golden mile. It was a food company that pumped in capital to help him expand to 35 stalls. Without it, he would still have been stuck with his 1 stall.

[@SeeStars65]

Well Done LL

[@73jacksoo]

straits time.... 20% truth only....

[@fishygal53]

Wow how he expanded so quickly? He needs to give a business course, will make money too

[@angelatee1601]

Would expect some empathy and validation from the host for this amazing young man. It’s just weird 😢

[@omega_3_998]

weird? She did a great job, shes clearly happy too. Can see hes shy and gives short answers so she had to ask more questions and guide him.

[@yuntong1995]

Lol all the salty comments. People just can’t stand a younger person being richer than them. So what if the fried rice is subpar? Y’all so good go open your own business la 😂

[@nantanaboonchuayseng3967]

i try once because see super long queue. really good. and pork chop is big piece. taste really good.

[@kimberlychan5441]

sengkang store indeed, the queue was crazy at the start edit: tbh the queue is still quite crazy now

[@IGovino]

Respect . Will go and try the fried rice at senkang

[@SuccessforLifester]

Ate a couple of times. Quality is good. Ppl may think he was having a meal with mother

[@davidng2699]

Once you hit 40 outlets, please go for a public listing so you can open a hundred more!

[@chrono9428]

Nice interview and I urge everyone to give our homegrown hawkers a chance and try at least once. I tried and since we all know food is subjective, for me, I would only say it is a decently fried rice but I would not pay that kind of price. For me, fried rice is fried rice, if you want to add abalone or beef steak and pair with rice/white/sake/beer to it, by all means but I don't think it is necessary.

[@BenjaminWong]

Uncle Roger needs to judge this, lol. Jokes aside, happy for your success. I was involved in business as well and I know how hard it can be, with all the things that you habe to worry and plan beyond just producing your product/service. Hope your success continues on.

[@stsh]

The colours on the interview video itself are so muted. Something went very wrong with the grading

[@russiasucks7170]

Humble and a high achiever

[@scht03]

Please look at Jurong East central store, the standard is getting bad... I really loving it, but please up the standard..

[@deschan2246]

Work in Jumbo till 20. Have 3 outlets at 22. 35 outlets at 26. Thats a remarkable achievement for somebody without formal education on running a business. There are lots of missing details that was not shared here. Dont naively believe he did it himself.

[@CalvinK-the_old_fogey]

I believe he did that. It is possible. I’m speaking from my personal experience although I took slightly longer than him 😂

[@deschan2246]

​​@@CalvinK-the_old_fogey the intricacies of setting up a business is more complicated than just capital fund. For a 20 to 22 years to do it alone is close to impossible. Unless he could share more details, i would still think its not possible.

[@TheMightyMedia]

you should not expose ST's inability here on such a public platform no matter how true it is that he had received help. don't let them have a chance to learn or improve, you're not doing anyone charity here

[@deschan2246]

​@@TheMightyMedia well, there will be gullible pple thinking if he can do it so can they. Thats irresponsible

[@flowertowerrr]

​​@@deschan2246aiyoooo des Chan. Just coz u can't do it doesn't mean others can't do it okkkkk😂. Of course he never do it himself luh. He hire other people

[@StealthLACHESIS]

Hard watch

[@crunchycashewnuts]

Watching this as I'm eating king of fried rice

[@coclim5712]

Humble …. filial… does charity…that’s good enough….🎉🎉🎉

[@lolzao]

Fried rice was good at first but I think standard has drop a little after so many stalls.

[@lotusfloat2020]

Different "fryer".

[@sdqsdq6274]

sure drop , comment as above , different cook

[@leongkhaiweng61]

Noted, King of fried rice critic.😁

[@rayray2255]

Wow....look at that body, waistline and facial features.....outstanding !

[@BansheeN0rn]

At 26 he is the chain of 35 fried rice stalls. He must be eating at all of them in one day😂

[@jeffreytan-yf6qt]

7.5 on the high side for coffee shop. But if it’s as good as they claim, ppl will still buy.

[@ellap8231]

Uncle Roger should try Lester’s fried rice 😂😂😂. Bet it’s tastier than Jamie Oliver’s’! Am going to try Lester’s when I go to Singapore.

[@jeslyny9692]

Same as me i loved fried rice but my homemade ones dun taste so good sigh

[@apaansehneh]

Calling uncle roger. ☎️ Please review 🔥

[@petrashia8741]

Does u'ving Fried Rice at Marsaling MRT Opporiste at Blk 305 Woodlands Ave.?.

[@cozybrr3686]

I’m around his age and I realized one thing, those that drop out halfway during education or start working at a young age (didn’t take the normal educational route) are the ones that are the successful ones. They all have their own business or are mainly self employed. They earn way more and are happier with actual motive in life as compared than your typical 9-5 (completing your typical educational route) type of people. The system don’t encourage entrepreneurs and have people discouraging youngsters from such route too saying things like, you have to graduate uni bla bla. Experience beats studying when you enter the real world. Rather than building the dreams of others I rather you build your own.

[@misterdd7239]

i might be wrong and statistically speaking the numbers should be quite low. One of the reason why you hear alot about these, its because it makes such a great story, the underdog went from zero to hero. Also those that didnt made it, you would never have heard their stories at all. This is more common "drop out halfway during education " because this means there already something going on for their person hence they had to give up the education route to focus on their booming business. the opportunity cost is too great.

[@MrHighwaysg]

Lester can you open a branch in Bukit Panjang !

[@changggggshen]

The standard dropped alr. Evidently from the queue

[@KeanLeo]

so many sour grapes hahahaha

[@cpteo8847]

indeed. most ppl don't' like to see successful entrepreneur though. 80/20 rules as usual.

[@noriking1467]

all sinkie pwn sinkie lool

[@howcanimiss]

What about the story that he is the chef who quit ding tai Fung?

[@arisupantsu]

king of fried rice xo fried rice with pork cutlet is sick

[@wangyibo2982]

I patronise your stall everyday.

[@tommyliangwei3724]

20th July 2023

[@IvanAng-ns8ez]

Quick quick… Someone tag Uncle Roger

[@chagallbridgit6963]

Back when we patronised his first stall at Golden Mile, we were told there was a 1 hour waiting time which we were fine with. Only got our food 3 hours later and Lester didn’t even bothered apologising, just gave us the “smlj” face like it’s not his problem. Food wise is really good but service standard absolutely horrendous🤦🏻

[@hsheuw]

Okay. Uncle Roger will want to issue a challenge to Lester then 😊. Let’s see if he can out-Uncle Roger Uncle Roger ? 🎉

[@cynthiachee5628]

Try woy hey fried rice....taste much better than king of fried rice

[@vvvvv17174]

Uncle Roger would came knowing this

[@mikesiva0308]

Time for uncle roger

[@petrashia8741]

I LOVES Eating Fried Rice. 2.:Each Plate Fried Rice:MUST Having LOTS ALOTS Two Cups Of🌽 Mazie+ n 1Cup Of Vegetables+n Three Eggs/ else NOT Nice Nor Delicious To Eat.

[@sammavitae114]

Is the fried rice Uncle Roger approved?

[@krisb-travel]

its not the fried rice, its probably good, but its the marketing, its always the marketing, ive seen brands blow up from one tiny stall in the Philippines to valuations of 50 million USD just within 1-2 years just with branches in Manila. Its quite insane what influencer marketing can do for a business.

[@winwinwin282828]

Try it with a lousy product, you can also go down quite fast

[@Kitmaru1P7]

Hey Lester, open a Halal store version so the rest can enjoy too.

[@WinnieNamie]

You think it’s appropriate to ask about people’s mum who passed away with a smile? No least respect. It’s a solemn topic. Sumiko did it again.

[@ariaantoroatang7720]

I like a good fried rice...

[@aryang4488]

ok...

[@patt5085]

Need to do ones where they're getting bankrupted and lose everything to balance things out But not you! you can do it too

[@ThriftyCHNR]

How is it possible to open 25 stalls in 5 years? He must have had lots of capital to start.

[@Honeymagmangospoof]

Make some outlets halal pls !!

[@DrunkenHamsta]

There's always wok hey

[@Honeymagmangospoof]

@@DrunkenHamsta naaah

[@kicktheajummasface9200]

I've had it, we thought it was very hyped since my friends kept wanting to try it. We tried, it was better than average but not really what I was expecting at that price range for fried rice. It wasn't terrible but if you want good fried rice, Ding Tai Fung would be better. JEM top floor sells better ones too. I mean, I don't want to rain on his parade - he did a good job getting funds to set up 35 chain stores at age 26. But I'm just saying as a consumer, this is quite the hype effect playing most part.

[@misterdd7239]

bro if he charge you DTF price, it would definitely taste as great as DTF lol. what you pay is what you get, considering his prices it is value for money.

[@noelloh561]

Health is important my young ones. The only reason you think money is the greatest form of success is because of society expectations and praises. Society being people. Dont wait till its too late to be healthy.

[@Way2go926]

Not halal right?

[@ratedchamp1]

I appreciate and admire his vision , however there is more behind the scenes of how he obtain capital to open multiple fnb , no offence but he prob have rich parents to assist him with finance

[@SuccessforLifester]

Also true. Children of rich family can really sit down and think of what they like to do instead of going the laborious path of schools to become a graduate

[@sapphiremoonstone939]

He’s fat but he’s kinda cute 🥰

[@icecreamMONSTER23]

What do u think make it taste good i tell you the answer MSG(uncle roger)

[@miklee4834]

Prc? Hmmmmmmmm

[@ronnieong6545]

At 21 where you get the money to open the First Stall and to be fair the stalls business is ok only .

[@sgpropertybuyertherapy]

tried once . not nice

[@UltraVioletMilk]

Does he have a rich China backer to fund him? Otherwise where does get so much money from so fast?

[@cai11tube]

$7.5 is not affordable. Ok tnx bye. I prefer zhichar fried rice anyway

[@leongkhaiweng61]

👋 👋👋👋👋

[@cnachopchopnewsagency]

How much Sumiko for a night?

[@user-yl5xc8wf3o]

why is he constantly shaking his body?

[@RavenCloudNine]

It's nerve wrecking for many people in an interview, especially of this scale. Professional lighting, sound, camera, pd, the whole crew, the environment.

[@Hecticam]

He can't stop frying rice. Every minute counts.

[@duncanng8510]

HAHAHA @@Hecticam

[@Juzforlaughs]

He shake or not Also not ur problem

[@user-yl5xc8wf3o]

@@Juzforlaughs thats true. that's the wonder of free speech. we just voice our opinion without having to insult. it's just an observation and a possible bad habit to stop

[@Yellahighway]

I tried his fried rice a couple of times when I was in this year, it was subpar. There’s no way people buy his fried rice in Hong kong, Taiwan or China. It tells you how bad Singapore food is

[@leongkhaiweng61]

Can try yours?

[@noproblematallmate]

The service from their outlets are bad and business is not that amazing. Most of their outlets have 3/5 star rating on google. Probably laundering money

[@mengkoontan61]

Sorry bro. I have taste your fried rice just normal. I can do it much more better. If go jalan jalan I would prefer go to zhi char stall 🎉🎉

[@Juzforlaughs]

U can do it better Than go open shop la Talk big lol

[@leongkhaiweng61]

I wanted to try yours but you don’t how to fry. Pity.

[@FinalSpace]

Without health, success and money means nothing! Hope he saved enough for the medical bills he gonna need soon.... 😅😅😅

[@Omar-ti6tu]

Don't be sour. He is just so much successful than you are

[@johnmonk3381]

​@@Omar-ti6tuit's probably true! Fat people do have bigger medical bills and bigger health problems. Look at the size of this thing at only 26! He looks like an asian version of rubeus hagrid

[@deschan2246]

He is typical example of benefits of not serving National Service. If he wasted 2 years servcing, he would not achieved anything

[@cnachopchopnewsagency]

He did not served NS?

[@wongfm11]

That's why he's successful, because of his get-going attitude and the will to try, instead of blaming it on other factors and so forth. The tough get going and the weaklings blame. Talk is cheap, it's the results that speak volumes and he has delivered.

[@TamagoEgg]

@@wongfm11 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@deschan2246]

​​@@cnachopchopnewsagency based on his acct, it does not appeared he has served NS. Completed N level at 20. At 22 he has 3 outlets. 20 to 22 he should be serving NS. Can he open 3 outlets while serving NS?

[@deschan2246]

​@@wongfm11its blessed to be simple n naive. 😂

[@rayray2255]

A basic Balenciaga shirt cannot help Shrek !

[@borderlesslife]

Respect for his courage, but his fried rice is not even close to a decent restaurant taste. Rice is not up to family standard. Full of moist, lack of flavour and sticking all together. The pork chop is the key.

[@boogie4943]

Anyone ever ask Sumiko about her relationship with late Police Commissioner Goh Yong Hong? What about her brother who studied in the US and the way he exited life on this earth?