Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny's food stall sells out early thanks to Chinese football fans

SINGAPORE: Chinese nationals started waiting as early as 7.30am on Wednesday (Jun 12) at Dapur Hassan, a food stall in Tampines owned by Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny that sells nasi lemak, lontong and other Malay dishes.

Everything sold out by 1.30pm – disappointed customers had to be turned away and even the sambal ran dry.

Hassan became an overnight celebrity on the Chinese internet after his heroics in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday helped to keep China’s 2026 World Cup hopes alive.

Singapore lost its match against Thailand 3-1. But Hassan made 11 saves, denying Thailand - who needed to win by three goals - the chance to leapfrog China into second place in the group.

As a result, China will join group leaders South Korea in the final round of Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.

“Everyone in China, everyone on Douyin, Weibo, we would like to say thank you for you guys, for the Singapore team,” said Wang Huan, 38, a TikTok livestreamer who queued for up to 40 minutes with his daughter to get nasi lemak.

Chinese supporters gathered at the coffee shop included expatriates who have worked here for years, naturalised citizens and tourists who decided to drop by during their trips.

All told CNA that they learned about the stall at Block 144, Tampines Street 12 after netizens unearthed it in Hassan’s old social media posts and spread the news online.

Cheng Yue, 31, who works in tech, does not watch football but went to Dapur Hassan with his wife after hearing about it from friends on WeChat.

“They said you’re in Singapore anyway so just go to the stall and see what’s happening over there,” he said.

Dapur Hassan opened in August last year and is owned by Hassan. Daily operations are run by his wife, Aidah Rahim, and her two