Phong family’s chicken siew pau delights Kuchingites for over 50 years

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By Wilfred Pilo

KUCHING, July 18: Kuching Siew Pau, which used to be located at Kai Joo Lane, has been synonymous with delicious homemade ‘siew pau’—traditional handmade Chinese-style flaky pastry with savoury meat filling—for more than five decades since 1973.

Operator, 30-year-old Phong Poh You, revealed to DayakDaily that after her grandmother died, her aunt, 67-year-old Phong Soh Chan, took over helming the kitchen.

“After finishing my degree, I came back and was involved in making the pastry, which I further learned from my aunt. All our family members are now in the business to help in one way or another.”

Phong is the third generation running the business. She said she also got involved because she loves making the traditional pastry and carrying on her grandmother’s legacy.

“It is my favourite snack. I am fortunate, as I learned the recipe intact with the family.

“Our traditional siew pau has always been in such a way and used chicken meat as the filling. My late grandmother made the pastry with chicken filling so everyone could taste and consume it.”

Phong, who has been managing the family operation over the past ten years, said she regularly conducts checks to ensure pastry quality is consistent.

“People ask me whether I get fed up with the pastry and the taste. I tell them it has been my favourite snack since I was young, and I will have it a few times a week as a treat,” she said, adding that her love of the traditional Chinese pastry has also bonded her family together and kept fond memories of her grandmother alive.

Phong revealed that her grandmother was also known for her yam puffs and curry puffs, which the business still makes and sells today.

“I suppose my grandmother wanted more varieties of local traditional snacks those days, and we also serve this for our customers.”

Their yam puff is encased in a deep-fried crunchy almost honeycomb-like coating and also has a savoury chicken filling.

“We used local ‘keladi pinang’ or yam. It imparts an aromatic flavour to the yam puff. If not (available), we look for a quality imported yam.”

Phong also revealed their curry puff filling still followed their grandmother’s recipe as they get their Indian curry powder supplies from an India Street spice shop.

“Maybe the right proportion of curry ingredients mixed in the chicken makes our curry puffs popular with the locals,” she opined.

Phong modestly admitted that over the years, their traditional siew pau, yam puffs, and curry puffs are not only sought-after by individual customers, but also in bulk by food and cafe operators.

She said to meet the demand, the family had to move from their old premises at Kai Joo Lane to Rubber Road 15 years ago as they needed a bigger work space.

She added that they focus only on making the three items and do not intend to add more varieties or other fillings.

“I am using more mechanisation to increase my production. But it is still mostly manual to make these traditional snacks. It should be this way to preserve our culture and tradition.”

She also would like to expand and find ways to encourage the younger generation to appreciate local traditional food and be proud of it.

“In the immediate future, I would like to apply for a ‘halal’ certificate as my siew pau, yam puff and curry puff use chicken filling. I want everybody, even our Muslim community, to consume this delectable snack.

“Only then will my grandmother’s culinary philosophy become a reality as ever since the first day she made the chicken siew pau, she wanted everyone to taste it,” she said.

Kuching Siew Pau is located at Lorong 7, Rubber Road. It operates daily from 9am to 4.30pm. For more information, call 016 883 1882. — DayakDaily

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