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Story of A 50 Years Old Kaya Puff Legacy

July 4, 2011 | 24,070 views
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Trays of Freshly Baked Kaya Puffs

Trays of freshly baked, flaky golden brown puffs filled with delightful ‘kaya’ (sweet coconut jam) from Sin Eng Heong on Clare Street (Jalan Mustapha al-Bakri) in Ipoh.

In a matter of days, Sin Eng Heong would be celebrating its 50 years in business. Yup, you’re not dreaming. It’s not 5, 10, 15 or 30 years anniversary. Half a century on, and the brand’s stronger than ever.

Not only that, they’re even expanding to the adjacent shoplot. If you’ve been there before, joining the snaking queue come weekends/public holidays (sometimes only to be turned away regrettably because the not-so-selfless one in front of you bought the last 50 pieces!), and survived to tell the tale, then you would have borne witness to their unparalleled popularity.

Traditional Biscuits Manufacturing

Modern technology? What technology?

Read on for more revealing shots of the stripped-down-to-its-finest-core manner of manufacturing/baking, and a revelation of this Ipoh’s legacy in the making.

Tedious Work

Maybe he’s been there, done that. And timely to pass the torch to the next generation, and succumb to the temptation of commercialization and modern gadgets. But no. Hell no.

Mr Ng is the brain and the brawn behind Sin Eng Heong. For close to 60 years, he has been in the baking business; churning out traditional biscuits; especially his signature kaya puffs. He started in Pasir Pinji (I hope I am getting this right), and established the brand for the remaining years, before moving to this current premise about a decade ago.

Homemade Kaya

Made from scratch; the creamy ‘kaya’ that made his puffs so famous all over Ipoh, and subsequently the kaya puff fever extended well over the Perak border.

Had you not known them in person, or witnessed how the production line at Sin Eng Heong really is, then you might just be one of those who have fumed, breathed fire and cursed under your breath for having you wait in the stuffy environment, bracing the tedious wait, the high chance of rejection had you been a walk-in customer on a busy weekend, or even the fact that you’d prefer your kaya puffs to be of uniformed shapes and aesthetically-pleasant.

Deft Hands @ Work

Every single piece of puff is made by hand. The dough kneaded and stretched on the wooden board, the oval-shaped pastry being the only molded design, and even the gentle presses on the edges to seal the rich coconut jam in were of uneven shapes and sizes; variations exist in correlation to different fingers being used and across different workers.

Ready for Baking

Haphazardly crafted, yet a marvel in its essence. When you know that the end result’s gonna be good, do you care how they looked like?

There are about 12-13 types of biscuits/puffs being sold at Sin Eng Heong. And no, they do not have a designated menu or even a price list. But people just know what they want from this landmark in the heart of Ipoh city.

Most notably; the Kaya puffs, the ‘Siu Par Wong’ (pandan/screwpine leaves flavoured lotus paste with salted egg yolk biscuits), the ‘Ham Dan Sou’ (lotus paste with salted egg yolk),  ‘Ham Kok’ (savoury meat floss puffs that was featured on this blog before), ‘Heong Peng’ (read this post for a better idea on what these are) and various others.

Flaky Kaya Puffs

Baked until a golden brown; for 20 minutes in the electrical oven. The crisp, flaky pastry crumbles when bitten, and stays as such for days after purchased. The secret behind this? The addition of lard oil to the dough.

On a good day, he bakes about 3000-4000 pieces of kaya puffs. And let’s put it this way. He only hires 3 staff in the ‘manufacturing facility‘. Aside from that? Himself, his wife and another helper will assist in rolling the dough for the other biscuits in the small section separating the retail portion of the shop, and the kitchen. As from what you saw in the second picture in this post.

Crowd @ Sin Eng Heong

Not an unusual scene; already a well-controlled crowd compared to some days when the rowdy and ruthless ones got all pushy and throw tantrums when they don’t get their way. People, you can always call and make reservation in advance.

Packing the Kaya Puffs

10 pieces to a box, or 5 pieces in the smaller plastic container. At RM0.80 each; the kaya puff from Sin Eng Heong is still my personal favourite. Some have complained about them being too sweet, some prefer the puffs to be harder with a crunchy pastry, but once again … taste is subjective. If you love flaky kaya puff filled with a rich, creamy and fragrant ‘kaya’, then you can’t go wrong here.

Colourful Biscuits

Colourful varieties of smaller biscuits; filled with lotus paste/red bean. They also make ‘Lou Por Peng’ or wife biscuits (literal translation) and ‘Gar Lui Peng’ (dowry biscuits?!)

The Lady Boss of Sin Eng Heong

Behind every successful man is a very supportive wife. And Mrs Ng has never been more loyal and supportive. For decades now.

Maestro of Kaya Puffs in Ipoh

Passion is the Word – An affable man with no air surrounding him, Mr Ng put on his best shirt for this shot, although he was wrist-deep in dough and rushing for the next batch release of piping hot biscuits.

Sin Eng Heong's Expansion to Two Shops

And more space for the maddening crowd in the near future, Sin Eng Heong will be expanding their business to the adjacent premise. So you don’t have to line up until the sidewalk for your biscuits.

July 10th 2011 is the day when Sin Eng Heong will celebrate its 50 years anniversary. And what better way to signify this momentous occasion than by expansion of business? Taking up the lot next to the current premise, there can only be brighter days ahead.

Not to mention higher chances of the delectable kaya puffs charming their ways into the hearts of foodies from all over the country … and possibly across the continents?

KEDAI BISKUT SIN ENG HEONG
No. 64, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri (Jalan Clare)
30300 Ipoh, Perak.
Telephone : 05- 2439659, or 012-4534596 (Elaine).
Opens daily from 9am – 8pm. Sundays : 9am – 6pm.
Google Map to Sin Eng Heong
GPS Coordinates :
4.594916,101.084855
Near to the police station (Pekan Baru) in town. Same road as the old Foh San and Kamdar.
*Read the previous posts for more information : Ipoh Famous Kaya Puff @ Sin Eng Heong, Meat Floss Puff @ Sin Eng Heong

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Ipoh Food
Tags
Anniversary, Biscuits, Clare Street, Ipoh, Ipoh Food, Jalan Mustapha al-Bakri, Kaya Puff, Sin Eng Heong
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26 Responses to “Story of A 50 Years Old Kaya Puff Legacy”

  1. TC says:
    July 5, 2011 at 2:07 am

    if he expands so big and cannot meet the demands, he will have to change his production methods sooner or later. Would love to taste those biscuits esp the lotus pastes one.

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 5th, 2011 at 8:43 am

    Yeah …. but let’s see how this works out in the end. Maybe he can, with more good hands helping around.
    Like how the Gunung Rapat traditional heong peng makers still do theirs the age old method.

    [Reply]

  2. ken says:
    July 5, 2011 at 9:00 am

    long time didnt eat the kaya puffs from there already!

    [Reply]

  3. jason says:
    July 5, 2011 at 9:51 am

    Food and history comes good together 🙂

    [Reply]

  4. Hungry Female says:
    July 5, 2011 at 10:07 am

    So good to see our loved foodstuffs still being made by hand and with lots of pride. Really nice write-up and photos, thanks for sharing!

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 5th, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    You’re welcomed, HF. Hardly seeing people go to the extent of manually crafting each piece when the crowd’s already grown many folds.

    [Reply]

  5. day-dreamer says:
    July 5, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Damn! Now you’ve got me craving for this… 🙁

    [Reply]

  6. ongls says:
    July 5, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    Advice DO not surf this blog during mid-night. Its will make crave for food /Supper.

    hahaha, just joking.

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 5th, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Ain’t that a good thing then?

    [Reply]

  7. JoinMe says:
    July 5, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Hi J2Kfm,
    Kindly be informed that this post has been reprinted on JoinMe.com.my, thanks.

    [Reply]

  8. Jean says:
    July 5, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    I love kaya-puffs…. this is going to be on my list… when i visit ipoh next time…..
    thanks for sharing…..

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 5th, 2011 at 9:21 pm

    You’re most welcomed, Jean.

    [Reply]

  9. connie says:
    July 6, 2011 at 10:00 am

    always order tons and tons of kaya puffs from here back to kl and also their salted egg biscuits as well.. the boss (uncle) is a friendly guy too…

    [Reply]

  10. mimid3vils says:
    July 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Boss always tapao this for me whenever he Ipoh 🙂 Very nice indeed!

    [Reply]

  11. Su Sian says:
    July 6, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    Not a kaya puff fan myself but you Ipoh folks are SO lucky to have such wonderful small-scale producers of special goodies. Glad to see that they have so much support to keep going and will definitely be joining the traffic jam at their counter when I next visit town !

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 7th, 2011 at 9:14 am

    Yeah …. already packed on weekends and public holidays, to an extent that we can only buy one box, maximum. If we go without reservation.

    [Reply]

    Su Sian Reply:
    September 5th, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    As it turns out, it took 2 trips to try the kaya puffs – 1 trip to look at other people’s puffs being packed up (we didn’t reserve) and a 2nd trip 3 weeks later when we were careful to reserve in advance. Worth it though, they are really very special. And still warm and crispy when we got them back to KL.

    I see you have some comments that the service is not so great. We were served on trip #2 by the same guy who recognised us from trip #1 and remembered that we missed out on the puffs, and who made a point of looking after us the 2nd time around. They are obviously pretty alert to their customers, even if their tone may a bit rough when things get busy.

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    September 6th, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    Yes, Su Sian. There are so many stories about their service and such, but if you know them personally, you will know that they are more often than not, really really down to earth people.

  12. HairyBerry says:
    July 6, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    …and I was re-reading your previous ka-yeng-kok post a few days back while making a list of things to eat in Ipoh. This will definitely be one of ’em!

    *back to reading Motormouth’s Ipoh Eat List* hehehehe…..

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    July 7th, 2011 at 9:14 am

    Haha …. send me a mail and I will tailor-make a concise list. Easier than going through each entry. 🙂

    [Reply]

  13. Tham says:
    July 13, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    Mrs Ng is my cousin. They have been doing this as long as I can remember.

    [Reply]

  14. jahomebaked says:
    July 19, 2011 at 10:21 am

    On the first day, bought only 10pcs and tot if I am crazy to buy so little…but after trying it the 1st time, went back the next day and bought 50 pcs in total ( for friends and relative )..It’s yummy, especially the lard infused crust! So glad they maintained the traditional way and taste and I did call them, but they don’t do any reservations through phone wor…

    Being a Ipoh-ian, sad to know I discovered this only 3 days ago…what have I been missing!

    [Reply]

  15. Ipoh Food - Top 10 Memorable Eats of 2011 | Motormouth From Ipoh - Malaysian Food & Travel Blog says:
    December 29, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    […] in its Essence 7. Chong Chew Hakka Food @ Kanthan – A Gem That’s Best Left Untouched 8. Sin Eng Heong Kaya Puffs – The 50 Years Legacy 9. Tammy’s Kitchen – Bringing Quiche to Another Level 10. Seng […]

  16. hong kong web design says:
    March 11, 2012 at 5:43 pm

    Perfectly pent articles , regards for entropy.

    [Reply]

  17. Anonymous says:
    September 21, 2013 at 11:36 pm

    I’m not sure if they allow people to reserve. I was there a few days ago and asked a man working there, how long is the wait for kaya puff since there’s a line. He wouldn’t give me a time so I asked if I could make reservation and come back to collect. He said I could reserve and come back in a few hours but no guarantee that I’ll get my kaya puff. He pointed at a man in the front of the line and said he had queued for an hour and imply that I should too. He was down right rude. Does he hate his customers or something?

    [Reply]

  18. Pak Kong Chicken Rice @ Theatre Street, Ipoh | Motormouth From Ipoh - Malaysian Food & Travel says:
    June 26, 2014 at 8:39 am

    […] Salted Chicken (diagonally across the road), Funny Mountain Soya Bean (a few minutes’ walk away), Sin Eng Heong’s kaya puffs and Ching Han Guan’s meat floss biscuits, as well as the prior mentioned Lou Wong […]

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