In the early days, Ah Hua started work as a coolie (manual labourer) and he discovered that by consuming his favorite Bak Kut Teh soup regularly in the morning, he found the energy boost he needed for his back breaking work of unloading sacks of rice off the sampans. His interest in this dish soon led him to find pulpilage as a kitchen apprentice at a well known Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh stall owned by his village elder, Uncle Rong.