Tabuan Foochow’s Kilang Kacang: From humble factory to becoming Kuching’s go-to place for festive titbits

Variety of nuts and crackers sold at "Kilang Kacang" in Tabuan Foochow, Kuching. Photo taken on Dec 23, 2023.

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Dec 23: If you’re looking for titbits to serve visitors during Christmas, look no further because Kilang Kacang (translated to nuts factory) in Tabuan Foochow has everything you need.

Started from a humble beginning as a wholesale store in 1995, the premises belonging to Syarikat Sin Thai Guan along Foochow Road No. 1 has become one of the best places in Kuching to shop for festive snacks.

“Kilang Kacang” in Tabuan Foochow, Kuching. Photo taken on Dec 23, 2023.

The factory sells over 100 products in the form of nuts, crackers, dry fruits, biscuits, chocolates, sweets, etc.

It operates from 8am to 6pm daily except on Sundays.

Sharon Chan.

According to the factory owner, Sharon Chan, 56, she inherited the family business from her late father ‘Mr Chan’.

“When we first started, it was just a small wholesale business. At that time, my father’s friends offered help to promote our products where we would receive retail orders from various offices, and we would pack the products in small packages,” she told DayakDaily during a short interview at the premises today.

Various titbits are sold at Kilang Kacang in Tabuan Foochow, Kuching. Photo taken on Dec 23, 2023.

The ‘Kilang Kacang’ was famous among the locals for the availability of various titbits sold in that ‘one spot’ where one does not need to drive to several places to hunt for different types of titbits, saving them a lot of time.

Additionally, most of the products are sold at reasonable prices, where there is also an argument that the prices are even cheaper than other retail stores.

The strict screening of suppliers and food quality monitoring are always considered, allowing the premises to identify its best-selling products and experience little to zero losses.

Customers photographed at “Kilang Kacang” in Tabuan Foochow, Kuching. Photo taken on Dec 23, 2023.

Sharon further said the premises is mostly visited during festive seasons such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Gawai Dayak, and Christmas Day.

“For the upcoming Christmas, we had quite a substantial number of customers. They are usually repeat customers or those who have been purchasing our products every festive season.

“However, we had seen more customers before the Covid-19 outbreak,” she added.

Asked whether there is any intention of business expansion, Sharon replied in the negative, adding that the market for their business is still small. — DayakDaily