Long before Singapore got a taste of thick-cut milk bread stuffed to the brim with meat, eggs or sweet spreads and grilled over a charcoal fire, the Taiwan breakfast franchise Fong Sheng Hao was already wowing crowds in its home country.

Fong Sheng Hao is known for its charcoal grilled toast generously stuffed with fillings. The milk bread is baked in-house.

Opened in 2013 in a back lane near the famous Shilin Market, the toast and milk tea shop is one of the top 10 breakfast spots in Taipei. Until Covid-19 put a stop to tourism, it was also a must-see destination for visitors.

The queue snaking around the block from the front of the Fong Sheng Hao eatery. The toast and tea chain is one of Taipei’s top 10 breakfast places.

There are now two Fong Sheng Hao eateries in Taiwan and two in Singapore. In less than a decade, the breakfast brand has become a success.

Behind the long queues and rave reviews is a husband-and-wife team – Steven Hsu and Dong Yinghui – with a story of failure and faith, and a God who saw them through.

Emptiness waiting to be filled

Steven, 45, and Yinghui, 46, met each other as children. They were neighbours and friends long before they became husband and wife.

The couple came from the same hometown and were neighbours and friends as children before they started dating. Now, they work together at Fong Sheng Hao.

Yinghui was raised by her maternal grandparents. When she was just 10 days old, her grandfather took her home from the hospital to stay with him, not quite trusting her mother to care for her because of a gambling habit.

Her parents would divorce not long after and, when Yinghui was still very young, her father passed away.

Yinghui on her second birthday. With her father deceased and her mother working in the city, far from their hometown, Yinghui was raised by her maternal grandparents.

Said Steven: “My wife was unhappy for a long time. From young, people looked down on her because she had no parents.”

Yinghui grew up torn between resenting the mother she never really knew and pining for her. The struggle created a deep longing in her life.

When the couple got married, they moved to Taipei to work. Yinghui became a nurse while Steven worked as the assistant of a legislator.

“We were going through tough times because we wanted to save money to buy a house and have kids. Housing is very expensive.

“But my wife’s family back home was going through financial difficulties and they kept asking her for money. She was under a lot of pressure.”

At work, Yinghui became friends with a Christian colleague. For five years, that colleague shared the Gospel with her but she was not interested.

Then, her grandparents passed away.

Said Steven: “So, she felt her duty to her family was done and she was free to move on to another phase in life.”

It was then that Yinghui realised she did not know what she wanted in life. Without her grandparents to support, she was suddenly without a purpose.

Then, she remembered her colleague’s many invitations to visit a church. So, she agreed to go to church.  

Yinghui (front row, centre) and Steven (behind her) after she shared her testimony at the church.

At the church, she saw the baptismal pool and decided there and then to be baptised, hoping to fill the void in her life. At the baptism, Yinghui felt as if she was given a new lease on life. Tears of joy flowed as the pastor prayed for her.

Said Steven: “She didn’t tell me she was going to church. She didn’t tell me she had been baptised. The topic only came up a few weeks later in casual conversation.”

His wife’s conversion would pave the way for his.

A God who understands

Now, it was Yinghui’s turn to issue invitations to church.

Said Steven: “I wasn’t in a good place then. I was having difficulties at work. I was trying to save up money to buy a house.

“So, when she asked me to go to church with her, I went.”

At the church, Steven was “just observing”. He had attended a Christian kindergarten but admitted that he “didn’t know God so well”.

“I thought He was just another god.”

The couple had a mutual friend, the owner of a furniture store He Guofeng, who was a Christian. The man took it upon himself to, not only go to church with them, but to visit their home to do Bible study with them every week.

All this piqued Steven’s interest in the faith. So, he went to the library to borrow books about Christianity to learn more.

“I found this tattered and torn book by an American pastor and what he wrote resonated with me. I took it home to read it and was thinking of buying a copy of it for myself.”

Steven told no one about his plan except his wife. The next day, their friend He arrived at the Hsus’ home and presented Steven with the exact same book.

“I realised there was a God and that God was reaching out to me. He knew my needs and He loves me.

“Because of that incident, I saw the reality of God and realised that there is a God different from all other gods.”

Steven (centre) with the pastor of his church and the pastor’s wife.

Steven became a Christian. One of the first things they learnt as a Christian couple was to bring their concerns to God in prayer.

“We needed a car but had no money. So, we prayed,” said Steven.

Prayer was not new to Steven. He had always had the habit of going from place to place, seeking answers to his needs. When he could not get what he wanted at one place, he would go to another.

This time, however, his prayer was answered quite differently.

“I happened to mention my need to my friend and he told me that he had a friend who wanted to sell his old car.”

So, the Hsus were able to get a car quite cheaply. Though it was old, it was well-maintained.

“I felt it was very different from when I was praying to other gods. In the past, I would pray to win the lottery to solve my problem.

“But this God is very different. He uses these miraculous ways through people to show that He cares and that He hears me.”

Being fired was a blessing

Within months of becoming a Christian, Steven was fired from his job.

It was a blow to a man who had, thus far, encountered few failings in his life.

That very night, the Hsus happened to be in church listening to a Canadian pastor when the man gave Steven a word of encouragement.

The decision to sell milk tea with toast came after an extended time of prayer and seeking God.

The minister described Steven’s situation to a tee – his joblessness, his despair – but gave him a prophetic word that God would lead him and bless him in his work in the future.

Steven wept and decided to devote time to seeking God’s direction for him.

“If I hadn’t lost my job, I would not have taken this time to reflect on my weaknesses and seek to change from the inside out so that I could discover the direction I needed to go.”

For one year, Steven prayed, studied, attended Christian talks and thought about his future. There were two routes to go: Find another job or start his own business.

“I realised that I was interested in starting my own business because my father owned a bakery. He was his own boss.

“I saw how difficult it was and how hard he worked to provide for us. I really respected him and wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

Business started with prayers

Direction settled, Steven and Yinghui turned to prayer again to decide what kind of business to go into.

Steven was initially interested in selling douhua (beancurd) because it was something he enjoyed eating. He even spent an entire week standing next to a douhua seller at Shilin Market, begging the man to teach him the craft.

But he felt no peace about his desire. So, husband and wife continued praying.

“Then, one day, my wife came to me and told me she heard from God and that we should sell toast and milk tea. So, from this we saw God’s hand again.”

At the time, the two items were not sold in such a combination. Yet, it felt right to Steven. His family had owned a bakery for years and they had a friend willing to teach them to make milk tea.

Steven (centre) grew up in a bakery. His father ran the business for several years.

“I went home and asked my family to help me do R&D on the kind of bread to use. Then, I had to do research on what to put inside the toast and think of the different flavours for the tea.”

For months, Steven experimented to get the menu just right, sending samples for taste tests with friends and trying out the offerings of other tea stores.

Once product development was done, their next task was to find a location for their shop.

“We didn’t have much money. Where the location was good, the rent was high. When the rent was affordable, the location was bad.

“We prayed and we searched as well. I was thinking, if we can’t get a store, I would have to set up a roadside stall at Shilin Market.”

The couple was very specific in their prayer request, giving God specifications such as the size of the place, the location and even the rent requirements.

The milk bread used at Fong Sheng Hao comes from a recipe Steven created that has been through extensive research and development.

“I even had one very special request – that the landlord be Christian, because I thought then I would have a better chance that he would be a good landlord.”

The Hsu’s had a date in mind for settling the location as well: February 28, 2013. Two days before the deadline, they found a space within a housing district. It fit their requirements perfectly except for one thing.

“We didn’t know if the landlady was a Christian. But she had brought her grandchild and his hand got caught at the door.

“He wasn’t badly hurt so she uttered the words, ‘Praise be to God’! I knew then that she was a Christian. I knew this was the place God had led me to,” said Steven.

The landlady was reluctant to lease the place for business. She had wanted to rent it out as a home. But Steven talked to her for two hours, hoping to convince her. In the end, she asked for some time to pray over the decision and asked Steven to do the same.

Over the next two days, Steven prayed. On the eve of the deadline, just before midnight, he stopped praying.

“I had peace in my heart. God gave me a peace that said that the matter was settled. So, I went to bed.”

Early the next morning, the landlady called to give him the good news. The space was Steven’s.

Even the name of the shop was God-given.

“I needed a name so I prayed because, whenever I have trouble, I would pray.”

Steven (seated at left, in white, with arm raised) brought Louis (hidden behind Steven) to his church in Taiwan.

While Steven was riding his motorcycle one day, John 10:10 came to mind. It was the answer to his prayers. The abundant life (fong sheng) was exactly what he wanted his toast and tea shop to represent.

“From the start to the opening of the shop, I have seen God’s blessing of an abundant life. Whenever I meet a problem, He always comes to my help at the most critical of times.

“Fong sheng is a blessing from God, not just material blessings in life but life itself. God wants our lives to be full and meaningful. That is part of His plan.”

A shop to show God’s love

Even after they set up shop, there were challenges.

On the first day of business, Steven was manning the store alone. It took him half an hour to prepare his first order which he ended up burning. The customer was so frustrated that he almost walked out. 

In the beginning, Fong Sheng Hao was a one-man show. Steven managed everything, including preparing the food.

That incident taught him never to overlook even the smallest detail and to strive for excellence. Till today, Steven is continually experimenting with new products and making improvements.

To boost business during the pandemic, Steven experimented with new products, like noodles.

“We want to be able to offer our customers a unique taste. So, we use the best ingredients so our customers can have the best breakfast choices.”

But the first few months of business was bad. Though the shop was near Shilin Market, it was in an alleyway of houses instead of shops. 

“So, we prayed and told God our troubles,” said Steven.

Then, a famous food blogger chanced upon the shop. He liked the food so much that he gave it a positive review. That drew reporters and Fong Sheng Hao ended up being featured in magazines and on television shows.  

As business picked up, Steven had to hire help.

“It’s not easy being a Christian boss. Everyone knows we are Christians so it is important how I conduct myself.

“I often worry that I would be the sort who would talk but whose actions wouldn’t match my words. So, I make an effort to let people see God’s love through my actions.”

Steven has learnt to correct in love rather than in anger and has used situations at work to display godly love.

Yinghui (back, in stripes) and Steven (beside her) strive to show godly love as Christian employers.

“One of my staff, who usually doesn’t sleep well at night and wakes up early, met with a motorcycle accident. He had to be hospitalised for several days.

“His colleagues were upset because they had to take over his work. Some felt it was his fault that he didn’t take better care of himself and ended up in an accident.”

Steven visited the man several times in the hospital and encouraged the staff to exercise forbearance.

“We all make mistakes. I am not making excuses for him but ‘all have sinned’ (Romans 3:23). We can choose to give him a chance and show grace instead of assigning blame.”

Each work day also begins with prayer to dedicate the day to God. All the staff, Christian or not, are included. So far, no one has opted out. Steven also shares with his staff the lessons he learns through sermons in church.

When his wife quit her job to join him in running the business, the challenge increased. Suddenly, it was not just his life but his marriage that had to bear testimony to their faith.  

“Working with her was not easy. We have different working styles and different ways of thinking. So, we would end up quarrelling. Then, we would pray together.

Steven begins the day at work with prayer with his staff.

“We are also not perfect bosses. We make mistakes. When we do, we have to own up to our failings.

“If we open our hearts to share, it gives the company a culture of openness. There is no gap between boss and staff. Then they, too, will be more willing to be open with us.”

Sharing the love of God

In time, the Fong Sheng Hao name started to attract partners who wanted to take the brand further.

“Many potential franchisees came to us wanting to work with us. People from Taiwan, China and even a very big company from Singapore. So, my wife and I prayed again.”

Then, a pair of young Singaporeans – Louis Tan and his old school mate Benedict Tan – came along.

“They were just one of many who wanted to buy the franchise. They didn’t come from money. They didn’t come from an F&B background.  

“But as we interacted with them, we found them to be very warm and sincere. They were real. They moved me.”  

So, instead of going with bigger names as franchisees, Steven picked the pair of unknowns. Just as God had taken Steven under his wing, Steven took the two men under his.  

(Left to right) Benedict Tan, Yinghui, Steven and Louis Tan. Steven sold franchise rights to Louis and Benedict so they could open Fong Sheng Hao branches in Singapore.

“It may be a business deal but I believe in relationships too. The contract is just a legality. It’s easy to break a contract.  

“But if the two of us have a relationship, then the partnership will last. Relationship is important. This is what I emphasise to all my staff.”

In the year or so that Louis lived in Taiwan to learn the business, Steven became like an older brother to him. He would also invite the young man to church and share the Gospel with him. Louis was not a Christian then.

“I believe that God brought us together. So, it was natural to share the Gospel with him.  

“My hometown is six to seven hours away by car. I know what it is like to be far from home. Louis came from even further. It wasn’t easy for him with a pregnant wife and a kid at home in Singapore. I had to take care of him.”

During the time, he taught Louis, not just the art of making toast and tea, but a lesson on what truly mattered in life.  

“I told him that money is not the highest aim. The highest aim is to have a life changed and this is what Jesus can give to us.  

More than making Fong Sheng Hao a commercial success, Steven wants to make it live up to its name of providing a fongsheng (abundant) life as promised in John 10:10.

“Fong Sheng Hao is about having the abundant life that God meant for us to have. I wanted him to have that blessing in his business and in his life as well.” 

Louis would eventually return to Singapore to start Fong Sheng Hao outlets and also to find a church of his own.  

“Sharing Jesus’ love is what gives my job more meaning and value,” said Steven. 

Husband and wife openly share their faith and God’s love with customers and staff. 

“We have one staff who was always late and didn’t have a good attitude. He would sleep at work. So, I would talk to him nicely.” 

In time, the part-time worker who started out as an atheist became a Christian. He now attends church and cell group.  

“If I weren’t a Christian, I wouldn’t have done this business. I couldn’t have done this business.” 

RELATED STORIES:

Break my heart, Lord, for what breaks yours: Refugees, missions and you