He once refused to sell the business for $1.5 million, now Ricky Lau is offering the iconic Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon and its secret recipe for $300,000.

The 80-year-old hopes to find a successor for the brand he created 32 years ago, Shin Min Daily News reported on Wednesday (Jan 7).

In its early days, his stall at Holland Village attracted crowds with its XO fish head bee hoon, san lou hor fun, har cheong gai (fried chicken marinated in prawn paste) and other dishes.

Ricky, a former wine salesman, said that he came up with the recipe for XO fish head been hoon, adding that he was the first to offer the dish in Singapore. He took over a stir-fry stall in Holland Village in 1994 to sell it.

He also opened a branch in Chinatown in 2006 which has since closed.

Following a rental hike in 2010, the owner moved the stall to a coffee shop in Dover, where it continues to operate.

Over the years, however, Ricky has earned a reputation for being grouchy to customers. His business, on the other hand, has been dubbed "worst-rated fish soup in Singapore" on Google reviews with a score of 3.1 out of 5.

With age catching up to him, and four children who are unwilling to follow in his footsteps, the octogenarian has been on the lookout for a successor.

He told 8days in an interview last September that he regretted not accepting a $1.5 million offer before the pandemic as business was brisk at the time.

Noting the challenges in running a F&B business in recent years, Ricky said then he was willing to accept $400,000 for someone to take over the brand and business.

Now, he has lowered his asking price to $300,000.

"I am open to negotiating the price," Ricky told Shin Min in a recent interview. 

Besides the brand and secret recipe to its signature dish, the employees are willing to stay if discussions go well, he added.

According to him, he's been at the stall every day from 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 10pm, only taking a four-day break during Chinese New Year.

While he's proud of the brand he's established, Ricky now wants to retire and enjoy life while his health permits.

"This is the fruit of my hard work over decades, I hope that someone can keep it going."

In the event there are no takers for Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon in the next two years, he said that he'll close up shop for good.

minlee.lam@asiaone.com