On most mornings, Fabian Toh, 33, would banter with his customers. Most of them are about double his age. But to them, he is an old friend.

“Our regular customers watched me grow up over the years,” said Fabian, a fishmonger. “The wet market is like a second home to me.”

Started by his late father Mr Toh Cheng Chwee in 1979, the Ang Mo Kio market stall has been known for selling fresh fish sourced from the neighbouring waters of Kukup, off the south western tip of Peninsula Malaysia.

In 2000, Fabian’s father passed away suddenly, leaving his mother Mdm Tan Hong Boey to take over the reins and single-handedly raise three children. 

“Every Saturday and Sunday my elder sister and I would be at the stall at 3am to help my mother. Even during exam period or when I was in the Army, I had to help out at the stall.”

Into his adulthood, Fabian never thought he would come back to selling fish full-time.

Upon graduation, the Bachelor of Computer Science worked as a software engineer for close to 6 years. In 2019, he quit his job and went into hawker business, selling lor mee (braised noodle). The venture failed, so he took on a job as a private hire driver for the next 4 months. 

In November 2019, Fabian decided to rejoin his family business. He rebranded the hitherto nameless stall, calling it “My Father’s Fresh Seafood” on its Facebook Page, as a tribute to his late father, a local legend of sorts. 

“He had a reputation for fresh fish, and for being a fierce buyer. If the supplier gave him fish that is not fresh enough, he would openly scold his supplier the next day,” recalled Fabian.

Twenty years after his father’s death, Fabian is trying to play catch-up. He easily rattles off the sources of his fish, telling me why a certain fish from a certain area tastes better. But Fabian admits he has a lot to learn. 

As a full-time fishmonger, Fabian turns up at Jurong Fishery Port at 1am everyday to select and buy the day’s catch from the suppliers.

Shadowing his uncle and veteran fishmonger, Toh Gim Wah, 57, Fabian would traverse the market to prod, smell, and weigh the produce, and haggle for the best prices.

By around 4am, Fabian and his uncle would bring back 100-150kg of fish and other seafood to sell. Their stall opens for business at 5am, and usually wraps up by 12pm, after which Fabian will make home deliveries to his regulars living nearby. 

Life as a full-time fishmonger is not easy, Fabian admits, especially when business at the wet markets has been declining over the years. 

“Nowadays, customers are coming later. There used to be a sizeable crowd at 6am. Now everyone is sleeping later and some older customers have stopped coming. The younger folks are buying their fish online. Business is not as good as it used to be,” lamented Fabian’s mother, Mdm Tan, 60.

However, Fabian sees a silver lining. 

“The younger customers are very different. They don’t mind paying more for quality fish but some of them don’t even want to step into the market!”

To capture a younger clientele, Fabian decided to give online sales a shot. Using online platforms, he has been experimenting various ways to boost sales and also to recruit younger customers into his pool.

One such experiment is a Facebook Live session at 9pm, when the wet market is closed for business. By interacting with his followers through chat and knowledge sharing, Fabian gets pre-orders for the next day. But that means he is also sacrificing his rest time for more business.

“I only get enough sleep on Mondays and Tuesdays. The rest of the days, I'm lucky if I get 4 hours of sleep!”

But Fabian is ready to work hard, setting his sights further. He hopes to be able to bring the freshness of wet market produce - seafood, poultry and vegetables - to busy young customers on a daily basis, while retaining the personal touch of the wet market vendors.

My Father’s Fresh Seafood is located at Chong Boon Market @ Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, and more information can be found at their Facebook Page.