A Singapore hawker has seen sales at his food stall double after a video of him driving a Rolls-Royce Phantom went viral on social media. It shows him arriving at Upper Boon Keng Food Centre in the luxury car before being asked about his business. Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani, 52, posted the video on TikTok on September 15.
The Straits Times reported that customers now travel from areas including Woodlands, Jurong and Choa Chu Kang to try the stall’s claypot assam pedas. He had borrowed it from a friend for the video as part of a marketing stunt to promote Seven Claypot, a revamped stall run by his aunt. They suggested using the luxury car to attract attention to the business. The stunt appears to have worked. The viral video also attracted criticism after Ezam was seen briefly parking the Rolls-Royce in an accessible parking space. His friend moved the car shortly after he got out. Ezam laughed off comments suggesting that he was involved in money laundering. The hawker has worked in the food and beverage industry for many years. His previous jobs included working as a hawker assistant, cook, club bouncer and delivery driver. He now hopes to open a cafe called Seven Coffee and expand his business to five outlets in Singapore within two years.
The video has attracted more than 500,000 views and thousands of likes. It also led to online speculation about whether the Rolls-Royce was one of the luxury vehicles linked to Singapore’s $3 billion money laundering case. The short video was filmed on September 6 using an iPhone and took less than 15 minutes to make. Ezam said the stall was taking about $600 a day roughly a week after it opened on August 15. After the video went viral, daily sales rose to more than $1,200. The dish starts at $8 for a portion of stingray or red snapper tail, with the recipe coming from Ezam’s mother.
Ezam does not own the car, according to The Straits Times. Ezam said the idea came from two friends, including a car dealer and the owner of the Rolls-Royce, who were having lunch at the stall. He said the car park was full and that the large vehicle was difficult to reverse into a normal space. He said some relatives even contacted his mother to ask how he could afford such an expensive car. Despite the video’s success, Ezam said he has no plans to become a social media influencer. His main aim, he said, is to use videos to bring more customers to his stall.
He had originally expected it to take at least nine months to recover the money. By the end of September, he had recovered the $35,000 he had invested in renovating the stall.
The car was among the vehicles linked to the money laundering investigation and had been successfully bought by its current owner at an auction in July, Ezam told The Straits Times.
