Abdul Malik Hassan had but one ambition when growing up: To be an airline pilot.
His family was not well-off and because he was the eldest of five children, he had to jump through a few hoops - peddle banana fritters as a kid, moonlight as a banquet waiter and bartender in his teens, work full-time and study part-time as an adult - before he finally got his degree, a requirement for a flying job, at age 33 in 2004.
The mechanical engineering graduate from Nanyang Technological University immediately applied to be a pilot with Singapore Airlines. When the company called him for a second interview, he was beside himself with joy.
But his father, who ran a nasi lemak stall, looked miserable when told the news.
Mr Abdul Malik, 43, recalls: "I asked him why he was not happy for me. He gestured at his stall and said, 'If you go and pilot aeroplanes, who is going to pilot my stall?'"
Those words caused him sleepless nights. It was Mr Hassan Abdul Kadir's wish to involve his brood in the business, and he was banking on his eldest son to rally everybody together.
As he could not bring himself to let his father down, Mr Abdul Malik agreed - but he wanted carte blanche to run the business.
Among other things, he streamlined processes and tweaked the menu and recipes. Already a popular stall then, Selera Rasa - at Adam Road Hawker Centre - became an even bigger draw.
Among many other accolades, it bagged The Straits Times Readers' Choice award for favourite nasi lemak in 2008.
The Sultan of Brunei requests it for breakfast each time he visits Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong served it to Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Istana when the latter visited last November.
Mr Lee posted a picture on his Facebook account.
Mr Hassan died four years ago, but he would have been pleased to know that his eldest son carried out his wishes, and more.
Not only has Mr Abdul Malik managed to get all his siblings on board, he is all set to expand the business.
Earlier this month, he inked a deal with the folks behind Pezzo Pizza - which grew the pizza chain in Singapore from two to about 25 outlets in two years - and plonked in about half a million dollars to invest in a central kitchen and open multiple Selera Rasa outlets all over Singapore.
The amiable and self-effacing man spent his early years in a kampung in Siglap.
His father initially made a living selling French loaves, riding on a bicycle in Telok Kurau.
"But one day, my grandmother told him she would make nasi lemak for him to sell, too. That's how it all started," says Mr Abdul Malik whose 86-year-old paternal grandmother is half-Japanese.
"Her father was a Japanese soldier who married a Malay woman. When he died, her mother gave her and her two sisters to another Malay family," he says. "Her sambal recipe includes some special Japanese seafood ingredients. That's why it is so special."
His father gave up peddling after he found a job in the laundry department of the Hyatt Hotel. But he continued making nasi lemak to sell to his colleagues at the hotel, where he worked for 20 years.
That was how the Sultan of Brunei became a fan. Hyatt Singapore is a property of the government-owned Brunei Investment Agency. - Asioane
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