He was at his stall at Bedok Food Centre greeting the long line of customers with his usual "hello brother" and "hello sister" last Thursday.
Then, well-known hawker Andrew Lim Seng Ann, 58, of Ye Lai Xiang Cheng Tng suddenly collapsed and died of a heart attack.
Madam Yang Hussain, in her 50s, who works at a stall opposite his, described what happened.
"We were preparing food, as usual, at our stall, which faces the cheng tng stall.
"Suddenly, I saw a commotion at the stall. I saw that Ann had fallen to the ground. It got very chaotic because there had been a long line of people queueing at his stall right when he collapsed.
"People started calling for an ambulance. Others carried him outside the centre, set him down and tried to revive him until the ambulance came, but it was no use."
It was a tragic end to a man whose smile was something his customers looked forward to as much as the famous cheng tng he dished out.
Unfortunately, customers will no longer be greeted with this familiar smile when they visit his stall.