"Happiness is handmade": Harry Tan Kim Song, 76
A tribute to Harry Tan Kim Song, 76: Second-generation owner of hawker stall HarriAnns Nonya Table
Photo credit: Alan Tan/HarriAnns
Uncle Harry Tan Kim Song, 76, lost his father when he was 7 years old.
At this tender age, Mr Tan began helping his mother full-time, waking up at 3am each morning to prepare the white savoury glutinous rice, a dish HarriAnns came to be known for - this was a routine he lived out for the rest of his life. He loved his work.
Days before Fathers’ Day this year, the Tan family lost their warm-hearted and humble patriarch.
Uncle Harry was a hawker loved for his dedication to his craft, and his unswervingly and patient commitment to deliver culinary joy through his handmade nonya kueh and dishes is, today, a hallmark of HarriAnns.
Through sheer hard work, Uncle Harry Tan oversaw the growth of his mother’s lifework from a wooden pushcart to a hawker stall in Tiong Bahru to four more outlets located at Suntec City, Bugis Junction, Ocean Financial Tower and Keppel Bay Tower today.
Uncle Tan knew in his heart that without his customers, there would not have been HarriAnns. He repaid their loyalty and favour with his sheer hard work; he knew no other route.
Right up to March 2023, when he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer, Mr Tan was still working full time, six days a week.
Placing his customers first was not a mere marketing gimmick. It was lived out in Uncle Harry’s craft and attitude daily.
Uncle Tan’s success as a hawker, who turned peranakan delights into hues of heritage, is no accident. It has a simple formula: hard work, perseverance, lifelong learning and studying of his craft, sacrifice and most of all, a love of doing what he thoroughly enjoys.
From losing his father at a young age to forging a successful hawker business with limited resources whilst raising his children to confronting his cancer diagnosis with optimism and that contagious smile of his, Uncle Harry displayed a tenacious grit that is a hallmark of the hawker generation that came of age in a post-independent Singapore.
We will be forever grateful for the daily example you have set us - a paragon of humility, kindness prudence, innovation and that keen sense of responsibility towards others.
Tough times do not last, tough men do. Uncle Harry was one such man. Unfortunately, Uncle Tan succumbed to colon cancer and died on 15 June 2023. He was 76. He is now able to rest.
Though this most down-to-earth man is no longer with us physically, his legacy as a purveyor of traditional nonya delights continues unabated and lives on through his children and their stewardship of HarriAnns.
In his last months, days and hours, though Uncle Harry was in pain, it is most likely that he continues to hold his family and customers in his thoughts.
Uncle Tan, thank you for the memories, smiles, selflessness and for the savoury foods you served us.
Happiness is and will continue to be handmade.
Rest well, Uncle Harry! Rest assured that you and your craft are too well-loved to ever be forgotten.
Photos credit: Alan Tan/HarriAnns
