When he was in Primary 5, restaurateur Ignatius Chan and his mother lived along the five-foot- way outside their shophouse home in Serangoon Road for one week.
They had been thrown out after they failed to pay their rent.
my life so far
'I love personality-driven restaurants, if they are truly personality-driven restaurants. An example would be this small sushi restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza. It has seven seats and it's called Sushi Sawada. Sawada is the name of the chef, and it's him alone preparing the food every day. That's personality' Chan on big-name restaurants
Now, home is an apartment in Chancery Court. Chan, who turns 45 tomorrow, co-owns and runs the 28-seat Iggy's at The Regent Singapore, which was recently named Asia's Best Restaurant by The Miele Guide.
The luxe eatery was also ranked No.77 on British magazine Restaurant's World's 100 Best Restaurants honour roll this year, the only establishment representing South-east Asia.
Despite such acclaim, Chan has never forgotten his background.
'I am not rich and famous,' he says. 'I am a kampung boy who has the opportunity to experience the lifestyle of the rich and famous. About 70 per cent of my meals are hawker food.'
Read the full story in The Straits Times' Life! today
