Noodle tussle in court

THE owner of a famous bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) stall in Crawford Lane has taken his nephew to court over the latter's outlet in a food court at VivoCity shopping mall.

Mr Tang Chay Seng, 63, who runs well-known Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, alleges that Mr Arthur Tung Yang Wee, 39, is trying to pass off his stall, Lau Dai Hua, as the original.

Mr Tang, who has accused his nephew of pulling publicity gimmicks to mislead the public, wants a High Court order to stop his nephew from riding on the reputation of his stall. He is also seeking unspecified damages, and for an apology to be published in the Chinese-language newspapers.

The falling-out between the men arose from advertisements the younger man took out in two Chinese-language newspapers in November 2008 to promote his newly opened outlet at the Food Republic food court.

The uncle said that in the ads, his nephew displayed the original stall's awards and certificates, a move calculated to mislead and confuse the public into thinking the outlet is connected to the stall with a 76-year history.

Mr Tang's stall, originally started in Hill Street in the 1930s by his father, moved to Crawford Lane in 2004. It was at this time that Mr Tang, the founder's second son, registered its present name as a trademark.