Upon stepping into the new village of Batang Kali, without any hustle and bustle of the city, all peace and tranquility throughout the small village. Gazing down from Fu Quan Miao temple on the slopes, rows and rows of new village houses were built neatly in accordance with the slope, clearly layered. As times progress and emigration of the population, currently about 600 people remain in the village, most of them Hokkien. Situated within is Swee Len Food Industries which is established for ninety-odd years, specializing in manufacturing traditional wedding treats for Hokkiens marrying a daughter —— “mua lao” and “lao huei”.
Having been working in Singapore for quite some time, a few years back the third generation owner Leonard Oh and wife decided to return to his hometown with the intention of succeeding his family business, sustaining traditional handcrafted goods with the flavour of remembrance, preserving his grandfather’s painstaking efforts in the craft of mua lao and lao huei. The production of mua lao and lao huei are renowned for the complicated handiwork and procedures involved, from the processes of milling, steaming, drying, cutting, frying and many more, the entire production operation spans over a week until completion. Nonetheless Leonard Oh and wife both stick to authentic hand crafting throughout the process, even the sesame and rice puffs dredged on in the final step were stir-fried in person, instead of using ready-made products.
Week-long process in return for three flavours, husband and wife taking a firm stance in remaining true to traditional handcraft, perceiving tradition as loyalty to artistry, essentially shouldering the duties of heritage and promoting cultural norms.
Text: Daniel Lim & Pua Hui Wen
有你 UNI Production
Producer : Mok Yii Chek
Coordinator : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Evon Pang
Video Editor : Evon Pang
Music : Can You Hear Me from Felt Music
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