Meet the ex-presidential bodyguard who swapped security for porridge in Singapore

By the age of 27, most people are just getting into the rhythm of their careers. But many Singaporeans would not even think of running a hawker stall with the trade known for its long hours and back-breaking work.

But that is exactly what Ms Lim Hwee Yi has chosen to do – and takes pride in.

Just last year, she swapped her earpiece and gun – from her days as a personal security officer – for aprons and bubbling pots of porridge.

Ms Lim had protected former President Halimah Yacob, current President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and their spouses during her stint with the Police Security Command.

Today, the second-generation hawker is not only continuing her parents’ legacy with Botak Cantonese Porridge, but also giving the business a fresh spin: bringing in younger hires through social media, introducing new business ideas and building a workplace culture that feels more like friends working toward a common goal.

She shares more about her journey as a young hawker and what keeps the fire going.

“The first reaction customers have when they find out I used to be a bodyguard is always the same: ‘Eh, how come you so small-sized?’.

I was a bodyguard for five years protecting two of Singapore’s presidents. It can be intimidating, obviously, but they were also very nice to work with.

When I graduated from polytechnic at 21, I wanted to join my parents’ business right away. But they wanted me to experience life first, so I signed up with the police force.

Last year, in my first week of taking over my parents’ two hawker stalls, I messed up big time. I was complacent and used the wrong proportions of water and rice. The congee was so watery we couldn’t even sell it. That was my wake-up call. People think porridge is just rice and water – so easy, right? But actually, it’s not. Every single detail is important.

We sell Cantonese-style porridge – the kind which you can’t see the rice grains. It is made with three types of rice and everything we use is high quality, from the fish to the sesame oil and even the soy sauce. My dad used to be a chef and he learnt this recipe from a Cantonese chef. We really take pride in what we do.

Right now, I manage our third and newest stall at One Punggol Hawker Centre. It’s the first outlet I built up from scratch and I run it with a younger team – most of them are between 22 and 27, around my age. I managed to hire a few of them through a TikTok video I posted. They started as part-timers and later came on board full-time.

We are trying to break away from the traditional way of hiring hawkers. In the past, hawkers usually just received a fixed monthly salary with no career progression. Here, I give them clear milestones. Every time they hit one, they get a salary increment – the long-term goal is for them to become business partners and open new stalls with us.

There is also no hierarchy here. We see each other more as colleagues and solve problems together. If something goes wrong, we don’t waste time blaming one another – we just focus on finding the solution. This is the culture we want to cultivate. They seem happy coming to work because it is like working with friends!

We currently have about 12 to 15 full-timers across our three stalls. But we believe that a business is only sustainable if your team isn’t overworked and you have enough manpower. This is how we attract younger staff.

I am giving myself five years before deciding my future. But I really hope people will give us a chance. They may come curious about the president’s ex-bodyguard, but I hope they will return for the porridge.”

This story was originally published in The Straits Times.