Food stall owner brings Rolls-Royce Phantom worth Rs 10 crore at shop, sales get doubled

A Singapore hawker’s decision to arrive at his food stall in a Rolls-Royce Phantom as part of a marketing stunt has helped double his daily sales after a video of the stunt went viral on social media.

Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani, 52, posted the video on TikTok on September 15 after it was filmed at Upper Boon Keng Food Centre on September 6, a sreported by The Strait Times. The clip, which has crossed 500,000 views and received thousands of likes, shows Ezam arriving at the food centre in the luxury car before being asked about his business.

The video also prompted online speculation over whether the Rolls-Royce was among the luxury vehicles connected to Singapore’s $3 billion money laundering case. However, Ezam does not own the car, according to The Straits Times. He said he had borrowed it from a friend for the promotional video for Seven Claypot, a revamped stall operated by his aunt.


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Rolls-Royce used as a marketing stunt

Ezam told ST that the Rolls-Royce had previously been linked to the money laundering investigation and was later bought by its current owner at an auction in July.

The idea of using the luxury vehicle to promote the stall came from two friends who were having lunch there. One of them is a car dealer, while the other owns the Rolls-Royce.

They suggested that Ezam use the vehicle to attract attention to Seven Claypot, which opened on August 15.

The resulting video was shot on September 6 using an iPhone and took less than 15 minutes to film.

Daily sales rise from $600 to more than $1,200

The publicity appears to have translated into a significant increase in business.

Ezam said the stall was recording daily sales of around $600 about a week after opening. Following the viral video, that figure increased to more than $1,200 a day.

The increased business also helped him recover the $35,000 he had spent renovating the stall by the end of September. Before the viral promotion, Ezam had expected it would take at least nine months to recoup the investment.

The dish is priced from $8 for a serving featuring stingray or red snapper tail. The recipe was developed by Ezam’s mother.

Accessible parking space draws criticism

The viral clip also generated criticism after Ezam was briefly seen parking the Rolls-Royce in an accessible parking space.

Ezam said the car park was full and that the size of the vehicle made it difficult to reverse into a regular parking space. He added that his friend moved the car shortly after he got out.

The attention surrounding the Rolls-Royce also led to speculation online about Ezam’s involvement in the money laundering case. He dismissed the suggestions, saying he found the comments amusing.

Ezam said some of his relatives even contacted his mother to ask how he could afford such an expensive vehicle.

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Hawker plans cafe and five outlets

Ezam has spent years working in Singapore’s food and beverage industry. His previous jobs included hawker assistant, cook, club bouncer and delivery driver.

He now plans to expand the Seven brand, with ambitions to open a cafe called Seven Coffee and grow the business to five outlets across Singapore within two years.

Despite the attention generated by the Rolls-Royce video, Ezam said he does not intend to become a social media influencer. Instead, he wants to continue using short videos primarily as a way to attract customers to his food business.