Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visited ‘Jeya Spices’ a traditional spice family business run by a third generation business owner in a wet market at Blk 294 Yishun Street 22, trying his hand at mixing spices.
In a post published on Friday (Nov 6), PM Wong highlighted that “Jeya is constantly finding innovative ways to keep this craft alive and reach new customers.”
The seven-minutes-and-42-seconds-long video captured PM Wong visiting the stall, preparing a spice blend, and conversing with stall owner Jeya Seelan, commonly known to his customers as ‘Jeya’.
Jeya showed how to prepare a Hainanese curry powder blend — a Chinese-style curry flavour with a milder, slightly sweeter profile, in contrast to the spicier, more pungent flavours of Indian curry enriched with chilli, turmeric, and pepper.
The shop’s signature is a ‘4-4-2’ blending ratio: four parts curry powder, four parts coriander, and two parts cumin. PM Wong then incorporated measured amounts of chilli and turmeric into the mix.
Finally, under Jeya’s guidance, PM Wong added ground cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon to impart the signature sweet aroma and flavour characteristic of the curry.
Beyond the fun mixing activity, the video also documented the everyday challenges faced by wet market stallholders.
Having taken over the business from his father in 2014, Jeya is no stranger to media attention. Beyond giving interviews to multiple news outlets, he and his team have creatively posted content across social platforms to engage customers.
“On September 22, the Prime Minister’s team reached out to ask if I would collaborate on a feature about preserving heritage. I agreed without hesitation,” Jeya said.
In addition to the main outlet at Yishun, Jeya Spices also has a stall at Blk 441 Pasir Ris Drive 6.
Describing his business as a mix of both technology and tradition, Jeya refuses to push either element away, professing his “pride in embracing both”.
“When you enter, you immediately feel the air conditioning; it’s not stuffy like a wet market normally is. But you still see the spice table, which brings you back 40 or 50 years,” Jeya remarked.
Jeya added that they both discussed the future of traditional wet markets. PM Wong had highlighted the government grants available and “seemed happy to hear” that this business had utilised some of them.
“Wet market stalls can truly stand out through sincere customer service, hard work, uncompromised product quality, and fair pricing.”
Conscious of the change in consumption patterns, Jeya describes the diet and lifestyle of his customer base as being more ‘intentional’.
“Generally, everyone is watching their health more. So when they do that, what they buy also changes. For example, they look for more fresh spices and avoid instant pastes with a lot of preservatives. So there is a lot more demand for my fresh paste actually because I promise no preservatives and no additives or coloring in my masalas,” he highlighted.
Reflecting on the video shoot, Jeya shared: “I was humbled, happy, and honoured. I hope I represented the wet market business, traditional heritage businesses, and to some extent, Singaporean Indians well during our conversation.”
