Gen Xer quit his job to help save his family’s restaurant

• Iszahar Tambunan, 45, quit his job as a naval middleman to take over the family business in Singapore.
• The restaurant, Sabar Menanti, has been selling nasi padang since the 1920s.
• Tambunan says it is difficult to juggle rising costs and rent while maintaining food quality.

As the lunch rush increases, Iszahar Tambunan remains calm.

He guides customers to find seats in Sabar Menanti, his two-story Malay restaurant, as he ducks behind the counter to serve the restaurant’s signature nasi padang. This Indonesian rice dish is served with various sides of meat, fish, vegetables and sauces.

It is a restaurant with a storied history.

His grandparents opened Sabar Menanti in the 1920s and started selling nasi padang next to a tombstone shop. It was then simply known as “nasi padang tombstone”.

At the time, it was not a restaurant but a simple pushcart in the Malay enclave of Singapore’s Kampong Glam. A friend had given the family an old sign that read “Sabar Menanti” – which translates to “wait patiently” in Bahasa Indonesia, and that’s how the shop got its name.

When Tambunan’s grandparents died in the 1980s, his mother and relatives took over. Growing up, Tambunan knew he would have to take over the shop one day. But as his relatives handled the business, Tambunan continued to work in the shipping industry.

“I’ve been putting off running the business for a long time because I’ve always felt comfortable in my workplace,” Tambunan, 45, told me when I visited the shop on a Thursday afternoon. in September.

He worked as a ship broker for over 15 years and settled into his routine there. “Everything is at the back of my hand. I know everything. I know everyone. I have a regular salary and I can go on vacation whenever I want,” he recalled.

But in 2022, his mother, Maryulis Bagindor Marlian, told him that she was not feeling well. He was 68 at the time and had been running the business for nearly three decades. Tambunan knew it was time to intervene. “I took the plunge,” he said. “I told myself if I don’t do it now, then I don’t want to live to regret not knowing what I can do for the business.”

Coping with rising costs

Tambunan said his mother was afraid at first. “He knew the good old days of running a food and beverage business were gone, gone, gone,” he said.

The rent, for one, has gone up. At one point, Tambunan said the store’s rent doubled after an investment firm took over the lease. He almost gave up and told his mother he planned to return to the shipping industry.

Fortunately, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore supported the heritage business by connecting them with the relevant parties, Tambunan said. This helped them secure a space in the same neighborhood at a lower rent, the amount of which Tambunan declined to disclose.

After eight months of renovation, the new Sabar Menanti opened in 2023 opposite the Sultan Mosque, a landmark in Singapore.

However, the costs of running a restaurant in Kampong Glam, a tourist hotspot, were high. In addition to rising labor costs, the price of ingredients has risen over the years. A whole chicken, for example, costs 30% more now than it did a decade ago, according to data from the Singapore Statistics Board. The same data shows that eggs have increased by more than 60%.

It became difficult to mitigate rising costs, and Tambunan decided to raise prices at Sabar Menanti.

He said that about 10 years ago, a two-part plate of nasi padang would have cost less than SG$8. Now, he charges at least SGD 10 per plate.

Nasi padang involves a lot of work and ingredients to cook, Tambunan explained. Beef rendang, a stewed beef dish cooked with coconut milk and spices, takes four to five hours. It is a three-person job to mix, cook and watch the rendang, he added.

With the price hike, some customers complained, Tambunan said. But others understood the need to raise prices.

Azreen Aziz, 35, a regular working nearby, is one of them. Making nasi padang is not a simple task, she told me. “Some people will find it expensive, but we understand the work involved.” Aziz, who usually visits her colleagues, frequently chooses tauhu telor, an Indonesian omelet with tofu, and sotong masak hitam, squid cooked in squid ink sauce, for pairings.

Maintaining food quality across generations

Despite price hikes and location changes, old and new customers have been coming back to sample Tambunan’s family nasi padang.

Since taking over the shop, Tambunan has also seen the customer profile change from older to younger, noticing the older generations bringing their children to try his family’s food.

“It’s a nice feeling to be able to nurture food across generations,” he said.

The recipes have been passed down from his mother’s grandmother – and now to Tambunan and his staff.

Some asked him if he was worried about staff stealing the recipe. But Tambunan simply replies, “No, I’m not worried because the magic is in store.”

Celebrities from all over the world have also traveled to Sabar Menanti to sample their nasi padang.

Tambunan recalled when the late Anthony Bourdain came to visit in 2017. He was in the office and his mother had called him, saying a Caucasian man had come to the store and taken a photo of her.

“I looked at the photo and thought, what? That’s Anthony Bourdain!” he recalled with a laugh.

I followed Bourdain’s lead and ordered lunch, trying the restaurant’s signature rendang and tauhu with a side of achar, a pickled vegetable dish. Served on a green plastic plate, the rendang was tender and flavorful, while the achar complemented its spice. The tauhu telor was crispy and sweet on the outside while soft on the inside – and I could see why it was a crowd favourite.

The future Sabar Menanti

Tambunan admits that unlike being an employee, being a business owner means that things are not always stable. He added that on some days, a line wound outside the store; on other days, there would be no one at all.

To keep the business alive, he expanded the business to catering.

The father of 12-year-old twins, Tambunan said it would be “very nice” if his children took over one day and ran the business together.

His son is outgoing and likes to eat, he said. Although his daughter is more reserved, she has a flair for business, he observed. “I think they will work well together,” he said proudly.

By 3 p.m., the lunch crowd had dispersed. Tambunan was away picking up his children from school – being a business owner gave him more time with his family, he said.

His mother stayed behind the counter, manning the cashier. Tambunan told me he wanted her to stay active in her old age and encouraged her to give back to help.

As I was paying for my meal, I asked her if she was happy that her son had taken over the business.

“Of course,” she replied simply. – He’s my son.