After more than two decades of cooking for customers in Singapore, Malaysian zi char chef Devid Retanasamy is preparing to say goodbye to the city-state and return to Ipoh, where he hopes to build his next business.
His Chinatown eatery, XH Delicious Seafood, will close on the 25th of this month, according to an announcement he shared on Facebook. But rather than retiring from the kitchen, the chef is planning to put his years of experience to use back home, with a new restaurant tentatively set to open in early 2027.
Devid said he already owns a two-storey shoplot in Ipoh, which he hopes to turn into his next business venture. He believes operating costs and the capital needed to start a business there would be more manageable than in Singapore or Johor Bahru.
A fresh start after years of business ups and downs
His decision comes after several attempts to establish himself as a business owner in Singapore.
Over the years, Devid has worked with different partners and operated eateries at several locations, including Ang Mo Kio and Cambridge Road. However, disagreements over business decisions and working arrangements eventually brought those partnerships to an end.
Earlier this year, he also joined the Xiao Hei Tze Char chain as its culinary director, overseeing outlets in Hougang and Bedok. He left in April following differences over his responsibilities and salary before moving to Temple Street to run XH Delicious Seafood.
Despite the setbacks, Devid said he has learned valuable lessons from each experience and remains keen to try running a business independently in Ipoh.
His family will remain in Johor Bahru
Although he has spent 24 years in Singapore and built up a regular customer base, Devid said his work pass status has made it difficult for him to operate a business on his own. He could only venture into business through partnerships, which sometimes led to disagreements over how things should be run.
For now, he plans to make the move to Ipoh alone, while his wife and children stay in Johor Bahru so their daily lives will not be disrupted.
“I also don’t know how long I can do this. Maybe after a few years, I might return to Singapore to work again, but either way, I want to give it a try,” he said.
From dishwasher to experienced chef
Devid’s journey in the food industry began when he was just 12, after leaving school and taking up a dishwasher job in Ipoh. He eventually moved to Singapore in 2002 and has spent more than 30 years working in the trade.
According to Shin Min Daily News, he was adopted by a Chinese family at the age of four and attended Chinese school, which helped him become fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese. He is also married to a woman from Shandong, China.
His departure will be felt by customers who have followed his cooking from one location to another. One regular customer, a 40-year-old man surnamed Wang, told the publication that he had enjoyed Devid’s food for years and would make an effort to support him whenever he opened at a new location.
Wang said he was sad to learn about the closure and hoped to visit Devid’s future eatery if he travelled to Ipoh.
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