Former Singapore national goalkeeper Hassan Sunny’s nasi padang stall, Dapur Hassan, has closed its physical outlet in Tampines after six years, but the footballer-turned-food entrepreneur says the brand will continue in a different form.
The stall at Block 144 Tampines Street 12 served its final customers on Oct 4, bringing an end to Dapur Hassan’s six-year run as a physical eatery in the neighbourhood.
However, Hassan, 42, has stressed that the closure is not the end of the business. For now, Dapur Hassan plans to continue through Grab delivery while Hassan and his family consider their next move.
Closure was not because of rent
The decision to close came after Dapur Hassan’s lease ended.
While rising rental costs are a common challenge for Singapore’s food and beverage businesses, Hassan said rent was not the reason for shutting the stall.
In fact, he told CNA Lifestyle that the coffeeshop management had been willing to reduce the rent when he informed them that he wanted to stop operating there.
Instead, the bigger problem was manpower, particularly because his mother-in-law, who has been responsible for cooking and preparing much of the food, is no longer physically able to continue at the same pace.
“It has been difficult to find and hire the right staff members for the business,” Hassan said.
His mother-in-law, who is 73, has been a key part of Dapur Hassan’s kitchen operations.
Hassan said he did not want to continue putting the workload on her, making the decision to take a break a more practical choice for the family.
Hassan has been learning the family recipes
The closure does not mean Hassan is walking away from the kitchen.
The former Lions goalkeeper has been learning his mother-in-law’s recipes for several months and has occasionally cooked the dishes himself when she was unavailable.
He now plans to take a more active role in preparing the food.
Rather than immediately opening another permanent stall, Hassan is considering several options, including pop-ups, bazaars, a central kitchen and delivery operations.
For the immediate future, Dapur Hassan will continue through Grab after a short break.
Hassan said he has also received offers from other coffeeshops since announcing the closure, but he is not rushing into another long-term location.
“I’m carefully thinking about what’s best for the brand,” he told CNA Lifestyle.
A six-year journey
Dapur Hassan first opened in October 2020, initially operating at Tampines Street 86 before moving to Block 144 Tampines Street 12.
The stall served traditional Malay dishes including nasi padang, nasi lemak, mee rebus and lontong.
Over the years, it developed a loyal local customer base. But in 2024, the business unexpectedly became known far beyond Singapore after an extraordinary connection between Hassan’s football career and Chinese football fans.
How Hassan became a Chinese football fan favourite
In June 2024, Hassan was in goal for Singapore during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Thailand in Bangkok.
Singapore lost the match 3-1, but Hassan made 11 saves.
The result had an unexpected consequence.
Thailand needed to win by a larger margin to overtake China in the qualifying race. Because Thailand won by only two goals, China advanced to the next stage.
Chinese football fans subsequently credited Hassan with helping their national team progress.
He quickly became a social-media sensation in China, and some fans began travelling to Singapore specifically to visit Dapur Hassan.
Long queues formed outside the Tampines stall, while some fans even transferred money to the business after its payment QR code circulated online.
The unexpected attention continued far longer than Hassan initially expected.
He later told Berita Harian that Chinese customers still visited the stall regularly, including tourists arriving with their luggage and students in Singapore on exchange programmes.
Chinese fans still visited until the end
Even two years after the football match, the connection had not completely disappeared.
Hassan said Chinese customers were still visiting Dapur Hassan roughly once or twice a week.
Some had travelled directly from the airport, while others were Chinese students studying in Singapore.
The relationship between the stall and Chinese football supporters became one of the most unusual chapters in Hassan’s post-football career.
It also generated enough attention for the stall to attract a visit from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife Jane Ittogi in 2024.
Fans rushed to visit before closure
News of the closure prompted another surge in customers.
Hassan told Berita Harian that the stall became extremely busy in the days leading up to its final service, with food selling out.
He even took time away from his football training and club commitments to help his family serve customers on the final day.
Social media users expressed sadness over the closure, with regular customers sharing memories of their favourite dishes and thanking the family for years of service.
The reaction showed that Dapur Hassan had developed a following beyond the attention it received from Chinese football fans.
What comes next for Dapur Hassan?
For now, Hassan is taking a short break before deciding how to restructure the business.
A central kitchen is one possibility being considered. Such an arrangement would allow him to prepare food in the morning before heading to football training later in the day.
But the cost is significant.
Hassan said he had looked into central-kitchen options that could cost around S$10,000 a month, so the family will need to weigh the expenses carefully before committing.
Pop-ups and bazaars are other possibilities, while delivery through Grab will provide a way for Dapur Hassan to continue serving customers without immediately taking on the costs of another permanent stall.
For Hassan, the future of Dapur Hassan is also becoming more personal.
With his mother-in-law stepping back from the kitchen, he expects to take on more responsibility for cooking.
“I’ve been learning from my mother-in-law for a few months,” he told CNA Lifestyle, adding that he intends to do the cooking moving forward.
From goalkeeper to hawker
Hassan retired from international football in August 2024, although he continues to play at club level.
His career after international football has increasingly included food and business alongside sport.
Dapur Hassan’s closure therefore represents the end of a particular chapter rather than the end of Hassan’s involvement in the food business.
After six years of serving customers from its physical stall, including an unexpected wave of Chinese football supporters, the brand is preparing for a new model.
For now, diners who want Dapur Hassan’s nasi padang will have to wait for the delivery service to resume.
And while the Tampines shutters may have come down, Hassan has made it clear that Dapur Hassan is taking a break, not disappearing.
