Kueh Appreciation Day
Kueh Appreciation Day 2019
Kueh Appreciation Day celebrates Singapore’s rich and varied traditional sweet and savoury kuehs, as well as their makers. Expect an assortment of delicious kueh crafted by local artisans spanning many of Singapore’s communities: HarriAnns (Peranakan), Kuehs and Snacks (Teochew), Mary’s Kafe (Eurasian), Hainan Xiao Chi (Hainanese), Pang’s Hakka Delicacies (Hakka), and our new vendors for 2019, Deli Maslina (Malay, Halal), Julie Bakes (Malay, Halal), Chef Damian D’Silva (Eurasian) of Folklore and Poh Cheu Kitchen (Chinese).
A sell-out favourite at previous Kueh Appreciation Day editions, the unique Hainanese larp dumpling (sticky rice and pork cooked in woven coconut-leaf cases), will again make its appearance at the Hainan Xiao Chi booth. The making of larp will also be demonstrated by veteran Hainanese kueh makers together with Hainan Xiaochi.
In addition to the food vendors, accessory and jewellery crafter ThePigBakesClay will be purveying her range of earrings, rings, ornaments, necklaces and keychains, charmingly shaped with colourful kueh and local food motifs.
Those eager to encounter rarely-seen kuehs and explore their stories and the intricacies of their making can make online bookings for three Kueh Demonstration Classes on Klook (www.klook.com), or purchase tickets at the door on the day itself (pending availability).
Led by heritage kueh exponents who have been invited by Slow Food (Singapore) to share their insights, the classes are priced at $40 per person per class:
10am–11am: CLASS 1 – Bolu Cocu (Eurasian coconut sponge cake) by Chef Damian d’Silva of Folklore
12pm–1pm: CLASS 2 – Kueh Rose (crispy fried sweet and savoury flower-shaped kueh) by food writer and cookbook author Christopher Tan
2pm–3pm: CLASS 3 – Hainanese Larp Weaving Demonstration by Madam Ho Soo Pong.
ENTRY & TICKETS
Entry is free to the general event and market to purchase kueh and lifestyle merchandise from the featured artisans. Tickets for the Kueh Demonstration Classes can be purchased online by the public, bookable at Klook (www.klook.com).
KUEH APPRECIATION DAY 2019 – ARTISAN VENDORS
Poh Cheu Kitchen (Chinese) – NEW – 127 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-230
Started in 1985 by husband-and-wife Neo Poh Cheu and Lim Kim Noi, with the goal of making the best ang ku kueh and soon kueh, the business moved to a couple of districts before finally settling in its current home in Bukit Merah. Their daughter Ang Eng Wah, joined the business when she felt her parents were getting along in years. Her son Jerome Ng, the third generation, joined Poh Cheu after university and is looking to use technology such as online platforms to improve his family’s business while still retaining the traditions that are the foundation. Poh Cheu started with six flavours of ang ku kueh – peanut, green bean, salted bean, yam, durian and coconut. They now have 12 flavours, adding red bean, black sesame, green tea, mango, pineapple and coffee. With three generations working together, Poh Cheu is confident of becoming a household name in kueh.
Deli Maslina (Malay, Halal) – NEW – 151 Bedok Reservoir Road, #01-1743
Since 1981, Deli Maslina has been well-known for its wide range of more than 50 traditional kuehs, snacks and cookies, such as kuih jongkong, kuih bakar, makmur, lapis, onde-onde, epok-epok and pineapple tarts. While some items are still available at its original location in Bedok North’s Mukmin coffee shop, its larger and now flagship branch is in Bedok Reservoir. For nearly four decades, Deli Maslina has been faithfully supplying Malay kueh devotees with their true-blue traditional recipes, especially for festive occasions such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Julie Bakes (Malay, Halal) – NEW – 14 Baghdad Street
Founded by Juliana Jahayer, Julie Bakes started out as a home-based business but can now be found nestled on Baghdad Street. Her kueh-flavoured cakes, other baked goodies and daily specials (which are often her mother’s heritage recipes, such as epok-epok and kuih talam) fly off the shelves – the stipulated operating hours are “while stocks last”. Julie’s fusion of Asian and Western flavours and techniques has proved popular with a growing group of fans. The ondeh-ondeh cake and ondeh-ondeh tarts are crowd favourites.
Chef Damian d’Silva (Eurasian-Peranakan) – NEW – Foiklore Restaurant, 700 Beach Road, Level 2
Of Eurasian-Peranakan parentage, Chef Damian D’Silva serves up ‘Singapore Heritage Cuisine’ at his restaurant Folklore, which he opened in 2017. Focusing on home-cooked flavours, time-honoured cooking techniques and kitchen wisdom from Eurasian, Peranakan, Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisines, he also creates dishes using signature flavours from all the above to appeal to a new generation of foodies, such as the sambal buah keluak fried rice.
Pang’s Hakka Delicacies (Hakka) 小彭客家菜, facebook.com/hakkapang
Being a Hakka and frustrated with the scarcity of traditional Hakka food in Singapore, Chef Pang Kok Keong – the established French-trained pastry chef behind the Antoinette patisserie – is determined to recreate recipes that will hopefully be passed down through the generations. He has been actively researching and testing recipes of traditional Hakka food for the past seven years. Chef Pang hopes that his small effort will go a long way towards preserving noteworthy Hakka culinary heritage. With a small menu such as abacus seeds, mee tai mak and mugwort kueh, this pet project has Fans order through the WhatsApp number on his Facebook page and collect their purchases in the alley behind his Antoinette cafe at 30 Penhas Road.
Mary’s Kafe (Eurasian) – 20 Bendemeer Road
At this very popular lunch spot, Mary Gomes, author of The Eurasian Cookbook, cooks up classic Eurasian cuisine, distinguished by a blend of Portuguese and South-East Asian influences with a long history. The set lunch – comprising rice and curry, vegetables, drink and dessert – changes every day, with different curries from Mary’s considerable repertoire on offer: ayam buah keluak, beef smoore, fish curry, curry debal and so on. Also highly recommended are sugee cake, pang suzie, pattie curry puffs, apom bekuah and chocolate cake.
HarriAnns Nonya Table (Peranakan) – 230 Victoria Street, #01-01A, Bugis Junction Towers
HarriAnns Nonya Table is a family-run café chain popular for its Peranakan delicacies crafted with precious family recipes. Founded in the 1940s as a humble push-cart run by Madam Chia Ngak Eng, the business moved a decade later into Tiong Bahru Food Centre, still run today by Madam Chia’s son, Harry, and his wife, Annie. Branches at Bugis Junction, Suntec City and Ocean Financial Centre are helmed by the third generation, Harry’s son, Alan, and his wife, Sharon. Popular items include kueh rainbow lapis, kueh sarlat, ondeh ondeh kueh dadar and chu bee png (glutinous rice with braised peanuts).
Hainan Xiao Chi (Hainanese) – 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7, #01-35
A real social hub for the Hainanese community in and around Toa Payoh, this stall was started by the late Madam Yeoh Min Lin in the late 1970s to support her family. Now run by her son Simon Goh, it has become renowned for its yi buah – an quintessentially Hainanese kueh made from glutinous rice flour, shredded coconut, palm sugar, ginger, sesame and peanuts, wrapped in banana leaves and usually eaten at special occasions such as weddings and birthdays.
Kuehs and Snacks (Teochew) – 125 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-164 Alexandra Village C3 and Block 7 #01-84 Empress Road (Farrer Road market)
Specialising in Teochew kueh, Kuehs and Snacks are dedicated to making classic recipes the traditional way. Madam Chia Siew Ying, who came to Singapore from Amoy in China as a little girl, still rises early to begin hand-making her specialties along with her son Simon Goh and their family of helpers. The signatures include soon kueh filled with succulent bamboo shoots, chive-stuffed koo chye kueh, png kueh enclosing seasoned glutinous rice, as well as the rare Cikak kueh, whose skin has a unique aroma and taste from a Chinese herb that grows wild near rice paddies.
EVENT DETAILS
Kueh Appreciation Day 2019
Organiser: Slow Food (Singapore)
Date: 28 July 2019, Sunday
Time: 10am to 4pm
Venue: OUE Social Kitchen, Downtown Gallery, 6A Shenton Way #03-02/03, Singapore 068615 Price:
Free entry to the general event, kueh prices apply.
Kueh Demonstration Classes bookable on Klook (www.klook.com).
Previous Kueh Appreciation Days
Kueh Appreciation Day is Slow Food (Singapore)’s signature event at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions of the Singapore Food Festival organised by the Singapore Tourism Board.
As part of our drive to build awareness and deepen appreciation of our local food, talents and culinary heritage, Slow Food (Singapore) presented this popular event to highlight traditional methods of cooking, with a focus on some of our celebrated Heritage Heroes who are the faces behind the culinary traditions that we hold dear.
The public had opportunities to enjoy traditional kueh (the Malay word for cake) from various local kueh artisans from different ethnic groups – Eurasian, Hainanese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Peranakan, and Malay – that are stalwarts in the trade; as well as watch live demonstrations of rarely-seen creations.
Five of these masters were also awarded the title of ‘Heritage Hero’ in 2014 as part of a program – Heritage Hero Awards Programme – initiated by the Slow Food (Singapore) to highlight the various categories of food businesses that are maintaining the cuisines and dishes of Singapore’s early immigrant groups.
The aim of Kueh Appreciation Day is to build awareness and deepen appreciation of our local kueh and kueh producers, including Slow Food (Singapore)’s Heritage Heroes, vendors who continue to produce their kueh by hand according to traditional recipes and techniques.
Slow Food (Singapore) looks forward to organising more editions of Kueh Appreciation Day in 2019 and in the future.
Kueh Appreciation Day Vendors
- Chat Masala (Southern Indian) [2015]
Ms Winodan of the well-loved Indian restaurant showcased unique Indian kueh such as Keralan unni appam – a deep-fried round snack made with rice flour, jaggery and banana, usually served on special occasions, as well as bites such as putu mayam (string hoppers), and murukku (crunchy nibbles made from wheat and urad dal flour). - Old Seng Choong (Singaporean Chinese) [2016, 2017]
Founded by renowned local pastry chef Daniel Tay of Cat & The Fiddle fame, Old Seng Choong offers traditional local favourites such as carrot cake, yam cake, butter cakes and other treats to celebrate every joyous occasion. Created as a tribute to Tay’s father, a baker and confectioner himself for over 30 years, the brand is named after the well-loved Seng Choong Confectionery, which was established in 1965 and run by Daniel’s parents until its closure in 1996. - Chef Pang’s Hakka Snacks (Hakka) 小彭故事, 客家小吃 [2106, 2017]
Being a Hakka and frustrated with the scarcity of traditional Hakka food in Singapore, Chef Pang Kok Keong – the established pastry chef behind the Antoinette patisseries – is determined to recreate recipes that will hopefully be passed down through the generations. As such, he has been actively researching and testing recipes of traditional Hakka food for the past five years. Chef Pang hopes that his small effort will go a long way in preserving the noteworthy Hakka heritage. Chef Pang’s Hakka Snacks will feature Hakka Abacus Seeds. - Mary’s Kafe (Eurasian) [2015, 2016, 2017]
Mary Gomes, author of The Eurasian Cookbook, cooks up classic Eurasian cuisine – a blend of Portuguese and South-East Asian influences with a long history – at this very popular lunch spot. The set lunch – comprising rice and curry, vegetables, drink and dessert – changes every day, with different curries from Mary’s considerable repertoire on offer: pork rib, beef smoore, chicken, curry debal and so on. Also highly recommended are sugee cake, apom bekuah and chocolate cake. Also look out for delectable Eurasian kueh such as pang susie and sugee cake. - HarriAnns (Peranakan) [2015, 2016, 2017]
HarriAnns started out as a humble stall in Tiong Bahru Market and has been operated by husband and wife Harry and Ann for the last two decades. Now also located centrally in Bugis, it remains among the few artisans that persevere in making Nonya kueh by hand. The long queues are testament to the quality of their kueh recipes, inherited from Harry’s mother Chia Ngak Eng, who ran the stall for over 40 years before passing on the torch. Popular items include ondeh ondeh, kueh sarlat, kueh pulut, kueh keledek and kueh ubi kayu, chu bee png (glutinous rice with braised peanuts), ondeh ondeh, kueh kosui and lapis sagu, among others. - Hainan Xiao Chi (Hainanese) [2015, 2016, 2017]
This stall has been selling traditional Hainanese snacks for over 30 years and is renowned for their yi buah – a kueh made from glutinous rice flour, shredded coconut, sesame and peanuts usually eaten at special occasions such as weddings and birthdays, as well as a soupy dessert made with the Chinese herb ‘fevervine’ that is beguilingly named ‘chicken poop noodles’. - Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh (Hokkien) [2015, 2016, 2017]
Affectionately known as the ‘Everton Park’ ang gu kueh (red tortoise kueh), Ji Xiang Confectionery has been crafting ultra-tender handmade ang gu kueh since 1988. Unlike some versions with thick glutinous rice skin, theirs are painstakingly made with an elegant thin coating. Fillings range from traditional flavours such as peanuts, sweet mung bean paste and salty bean paste, to modern renditions such as durian, sweet corn and yam: a rainbow selection of these ang gu kuehs will be on sale at the event. - Kuehs and Snacks (Teochew) [2015, 2016, 2017]
A Teochew kueh specialist, Kuehs and Snacks are dedicated to making classic recipes the traditional way using ingredients sourced from Malaysia and China. For the event, the public can look forward to purchasing their famed soon kueh filled with bamboo shoots, koo chye kueh filled with chives, png kueh (rice cake), as well as unique items such as a kueh tinted dusky grey by a Chinese herb. For 2017, they featured the rarely seen traditional Teochew savoury green bean kueh served with lor chup (braised duck gravy). - Kway Guan Huat (Hokkien) [2017]
Kway Guan Huat has been turning out delicate, tissue-thin handmade popiah skins for over 70 years. Current third-generation head Michael Ker credits the popiah skin recipe to his grandfather, a ‘chun bing’ (spring pancake) exponent from Fujian’s Anxi County: the popiah filling and kueh pie tee recipes descend from Ker’s grandmother, a Melaka Nyonya. Their humble shophouse at Joo Chiat is a local landmark for East Coast dwellers and popiah fans islandwide. - Ratu Lemper (Indonesian) [2017]
Named for the Indonesian specialty of owners and chefs Aliya Widjaya and her husband Amin Yusoff, Ratu Lemper offers lemper (glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk and wrapped around savoury spiced chicken and beef fillings) which are softer and plusher than most Indonesian versions, and shaped in a modern ‘sandwich’ format neatly parcelled up in banana leaves.
Kueh Making Demonstrations
Kueh-making Demonstrations were one of the key highlights of Kueh Appreciation Day. Led by heritage kueh artisans who had been invited by Slow Food (Singapore) to share their insights, the classes were affordably priced, and were held at the venue of our Event Partner: ToTT @ Dunearn.
Kueh Making Demos included:
Teochew Soon Kueh (2015)
Chef Eric Neo, celebrity chef with more the 25 years of experience, demonstrated how to make 2 different versions of the ever popular traditional Soon Kueh.
Eurasian Pang Susie (2015)
Mdm Mary Gomez, chef owner of Mary’s Kafe, demonstrated how to make the rarely seen Eurasian savoury pasty, Pang Suzie.
Ondeh Ondeh Gula Melaka (2015)
Mr Alan Tan, the 3rd generation business owner of HarriAnn’s which has a history of 50 years, demonstrated the favourite Ondeh Ondeh Gula Melaka.
Hakka Mugwort Rice Cake (2016)
Pastry Chef & Chocolatier Then Chui Foong along with her mother, demonstrated the very traditional Hakka Mugwort Rice Cakes.
Hainan Larp (2016)
The ladies of the Singapore Hainan Association and Hainan Xiao Chi came together to demonstrate the intricate and difficult to make Hainan Larp, a savoury meat filled rice dumpling wrapped in coconut leaves.
Kueh Bugis and Lempur Udang (2016)
Mr Alan Tan, the 3rd generation business owner of HarriAnn’s which has a history of 50 years, demonstrated how to make Kueh Bugis and Lemper Udang.
Yam Cake (2016)
Chef Daniel Tay, celebrity pastry chef from Old Seng Choong, demonstrated a traditional Yam Cake using an old family recipe.
Hakka Xi Ban (2017)
Chef Then Chui Foong, pastry chef and chocolatier extraordinaire, demonstrated two version of the Hakka Xi Ban (Steamed Buns), one traditional ad the other with a modern twist.
Hainan Yi Buah (2017)
Mdm Ho Soo Pong representing the Hainan Hwee Guan, will demonstrate the traditional Hainan Yi Buah (Coconut and Brown Sugar Rice Cake).
Kueh Dadar and Kueh Durian (2017)
Head Chef Alvin Leong of Baba Chews, Hotel Indigo Singapore, will demonstrate Kueh Dadar (Crepe Rolls) filled with traditional coconut and palm sugar inti, and a variation featuring homemade durian mousse!
Hands-on Kueh Classes
Hands-on kueh classes were held on the run-up to Kueh Appreciation Day 2017 by our Venue Partner, ToTT Store, who hosted several classes at both ToTT @ Dunearn and ToTT @ Suntec.
Famous Layers: Kueh Lapis (2017)
Chef Darryl Lim taught participants how to prepare Classic Kueh Lapis Cake and Chocolate/Prune Kueh Lapis Cake.
Peranakan Nonya Kueh Series: Class 1 (2017)
Chef Julie Yee guided participants in the making of: Lapis Beras (Nonya 9 Layer Kueh), Kueh Dadar (Pandan Crepe with Grated Coconut), Hoon Kueh Jagung (Sweet Corn with Mung Bean Flour & Coconut Milk Kueh) and Steam Tapioca Kueh (Demo).
Peranakan Nonya Kueh Series: Class 2 (2017)
Chef Julie Yee guided participants in the making of: Kueh Sarlat (Pandan Coconut Custard with Glutinous Rice), Bingka Ubi (Baked tapioca Kueh) and Nonya Mua Chee (Demo).
Peranakan Nonya Kueh Series: Class 3 (2017)
Chef Julie Yee taught participants in the making of: Ondei Ondei (Sweet Potato Dough wrapped with Gula Melaka coated with Grated Coconut), Durian Sago Kueh ( Fresh Durian with Sago and Grated Coconut – Demo), Kueh bi Kau Lempeng (Pan Fried Tapioca Pancake).
You must be logged in to post a comment.