Category: Native Cuisine

Poon Choi (also known as Basin Feast) is a traditional Hakka festive dish, with over a dozen ingredients stacked layer by layer inside a metal basin or claypot, full to the brim, symbolizing prosperity, as well as family reunion.

The ingredients used in Poon Choi are according to one’s means, and vary with regional or personal preference. The making of Poon Choi may seem simple, but the preparation process is complicated, time-consuming, and laborious. The dozen ingredients are cooked using various methods such as stuffing, pan-frying, deep-frying, roasting, boiling, braising, stewing, and blanching, comparable to preparing a banquet. The broth is the essence of Poon Choi. When poured over and heated, it penetrates layer by layer. Tthe further down the ingredients are in the pot, the more fully they absorb the broth, therefore the more flavorful.

At 5AM, in a home kitchen in Semenyih, Uncle Wee Boon Kim makes a broth with pork bones and an old hen. He insists on using whole ingredients to make the broth and does not use MSG, which makes the broth taste delicious. During the six hours it takes to simmer the broth under low heat, instead of being idle, he washed, chopped, and processed other raw materials.

Firstly, he makes stuffed dried oysters, stuffed gluten puffs, and jumbo pork meatballs. Jicama and carrots are sliced into strips, fresh fish and minced pork are hand-beaten into a paste. These materials form the base for hand-rolled stuffed fillings and meatballs. Dried oysters are steamed and cut to make stuffed dried oysters, whereas round gluten puffs are slit in the middle to insert stuffed fillings. Marinated pork ribs are pressure-cooked, then braised together with yam chunks. Next, he blanches the four-month-old free-range chicken raised by nearby farmers, as well as broccoli. Then the prawns are deep-fried until golden. Rehydrated mushrooms, sea cucumbers, and fish maw, along with ready-to-eat smoked duck and abalone, are all set aside for later use.

Take a claypot about one foot in diameter and half a foot deep, line the bottom with Chinese cabbage, white radish, and mushrooms, all of which are resistant to stewing and have excellent absorption capacity. The middle layers are filled with minimally processed ingredients such as stuffed dried oysters, stuffed gluten puffs, jumbo pork meatballs, braised pork ribs with yam, poached chicken, and smoked duck. The top layer is made up of expensive ingredients such as abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, and fried prawns, garnished with broccoli. Pour the broth over and steam to reheat, a lavish dish is thus completed. 

Uncle Wee does not make Poon Choi year round, he only accepts bookings for Chinese New Year’s Eve. He has 35 years of experience doing banquet catering in restaurants, working his way from commis up to the main chef, where he mastered the art of Cantonese cuisine. Originally a Hainanese, Uncle Wee settled in Semenyih due to work, and married a Hakka wife. During the MCO, he was out of a job, so he tried selling Poon Choi as a side hustle. Because of its delicious taste made using high-quality ingredients, customers have been repurchasing it for several years and have also recommended it to their relatives and friends.

The Poon Choi by Uncle Wee is only available for pickup in Semenyih. After a quick steaming at home, it becomes a sumptuous Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner. The whole family gathers around the table for a meal, savoring the delicious flavors and cherishing the warm atmosphere of the Chinese New Year. Apart from meat-based Poon Choi, Uncle Wee also makes vegetarian Poon Choi. The broth is made with white radish, Polygonatum odoratum, and Polygonatum macropodium, and all the meat ingredients are replaced with vegetarian ones. Uncle Wee also accepts pre-orders for classic festive dishes such as Eight Treasure Duck, Phoenix Balls, and Pearl Rolls, each of which requires meticulous culinary skills to prepare.

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, share a sumptuous Poon Choi at the reunion dinner with family and friends. The joy of gathering and the beautiful hopes for the future are all gathered in this delicious dish.

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【The Origin of Poon Choi】

There are many theories about the origin of Poon Choi, but none can be verified. Two of the more popular theories are: 

（1）
Wen Tianxiang, a loyal minister and national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty, was defeated by the Yuan army and retreated to the Shenzhen area. The local boatmen, both admiring and sympathetic to Wen Tianxiang and his troops, cooked pork, radishes, and freshly caught fish and shrimp from their boats for the soldiers. Because there were limited bowls and plates on the boats, the food was served in wooden basins. After the defeat, many people settled in the area (including Wen Tianxiang’s descendants), forming the Hakka people.

（2）
During the late Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Bing and his officials fled south to escape the Yuan Dynasty army. When they passed through one of the walled villages in the New Territories of Hong Kong, they were warmly received by the villagers. In their haste, the villagers could not find enough containers for the food. In order not to waste everyone’s good intentions, they used wooden basins to hold the dishes, and everyone sat around the basins to eat. The best ingredients were placed on top and presented to the emperor.

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【Poon Choi Info】

Poon Choi is one of the most representative festive dishes in Hakka cuisine. It is an essential dish for Hakka people during important occasions such as religious rituals, major festivals, and weddings. In the past, it was also called “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix.” Because Poon Choi contains a wide variety of ingredients, the combination of flavors and seasonings is very important, and the cooking time must be just right. When eating Poon Choi, one should eat it layer by layer from top to bottom, so that good fortune rolls in from the tip of the tongue. The minimum serving size for Poon Choi is 6 people, and modern restaurants generally offer 10 servings.

The core of Poon Choi is its broth, and each family has their own secret recipe. The most distinctive feature of Poon Choi is that it incorporates various cooking methods such as frying, deep-frying, braising, boiling, stewing, and simmering within this “bowl of treasuresl.” The top layer of Poon Choi usually contains the most precious ingredients, the middle layer contains minimally processed ingredients, and the bottom layer is generally raw vegetables, which are more resistant to stewing and absorb the broth until they are soft and flavorful.

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【Auspicious Meanings in Poon Choi】

Here’s a compilation of some interesting interpretations of the auspicious meanings in Poon Choi from the internet, just for fun:

• Mushrooms – success in all directions
• Meatballs – abundant wealth
• Dried Oysters – good fortune/prosperous returns
• Stuffed Gluten Puffs – the best of both worlds
• Chinese Cabbage – financial prosperity
• Poached Chicken – good fortune and surplus
• Braised Pork with Yam – family happiness
• Abalone – wealth and prosperity year after year
• Broccoli – youth, beauty, and good fortune
• Prawns (homophone for “laughing heartily”) – constant happiness
• Sea Cucumber (homophone for “deep sea”) – boundless blessings
• Duck (take the radical “甲”) – academic success and achievement
• White Radish (translates to “vegetable head” in Cantonese, homophone for “lucky”) – good fortune
• Fish Maw – wealth and good luck
• fill the bowl to the brim – boundless wealth

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COPYRIGHTS 2026 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

Traditional Teochew mooncakes incorporate lard into both the skin and the fillings, the pronunciation of lard in Teochew language is “la”, hence the name “La Piah”. Its crust is thin and flaky, its fillings thick and soft; it is round and shaped like a drum, and baked to a golden hue. Another Mid-Autumn Festival delicacy is “La Ko”, a steamed glutinous rice pudding with lard, sugar, and the addition of black sesame. There is also deep-fried yam paste mooncake, consisting of crispy layered crust, filled with soft and smooth yam paste encasing a salted egg yolk.

In Kuala Lumpur, Cantonese style mooncakes are trending, Teochew mooncakes are hardly seen, except in Setapak. Established over 113 years, Setapak Teochew Restaurant not only sells hot food, but also make traditional pastries. Till this day, they do their best to maintain the authentic taste their ancestors brought over from Shantou, China. Lard is still being used in the making of La Piah, La Ko, and yam paste mooncakes. La Piah fillings include red bean paste, mung bean paste, preserved vegetable paste, mixed fruit paste, mixed preserved vegetable with mung bean paste, and mixed fruit with mung bean paste; La Ko fillings include mung bean paste and yam paste.

85-year-old Ng Soo Teng is the third generation owner of Setapak Teochew Restaurant, now that he handed over the reins to the fourth generation, namely his 51-year-old son Ng Kheng Siang, but he still helps out every day regardless of the weather. The father and son share a similar career path, started working in the restaurant after graduating from high school, and underwent rigorous training by the previous generation to learn noodles-making, pastry-making, as well as culinary skills. Their business philosophy focuses on quality over quantity, insisting on using premium quality ingredients, enforcing strict food preparation process, maintaining the high quality of foods, actively listening to customer feedback, so that customers keep returning.

Every year, from the end of the sixth month of the lunar calendar till Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are in great demand, therefore it is the busiest period in the shop. Manpower mainly consists of family members, even though there are a few employees, the key processes are still being handled by Ng Kheng Siang personally. La Piah, La Ko, and yam paste mooncake production starts in the wee hours, happening in the kitchens on both the ground floor and the first floor. After working through the night, they move on to prepare ingredients for the restaurant, then opening and start hot cooking. Signature dishes include homemade Hokkien noodles, stir-fried white rice cakes, spicy white vermicelli, traditional Teochew fare such as steamed pomfret fish and pomfret fish porridge, as well as snacks including homemade fish ball, fish cake, and meat roll.

Over the past century, changes occur along with the times. The types of fuels used in cooking gradually changed from charcoal stove, wood-fired stove, to modern gas stove and electric oven. Each change presented a challenge to maintain the authentic taste. Uncle Ng is optimistic about the changes, as it reduces manual labor and food safety issues.  Even though some procedures are being handled by machinery, human supervision is still required in heat control, as well as adjusting the ratio of water according to the water absorption capacity of different batches of ingredients.

Setapak Teochew Restaurant has taken root in Kuala Lumpur for over a century, running both a restaurant and a pastry bakery within the same premises, continuing to serve authentic flavors over several generations, as well as maintaining a cultural legacy.

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【Establishment History】

The founder of Setapak hailed from Shantou, China. In the early 20th century, he came to Ampang and worked as both a tin miner and a pig farmer. In 1912, he took over an eatery in Setapak, and opened Song Kee Eatery in partnership with his brother-in-law, selling Teochew porridge, stir-fried noodles, and pastries. They hired fellow Teochew people as helpers, and provided them with food and shelter, helping each other out while making a living in Malaya. 

As times change, the families flourished and branched out, the brother-in-law withdrew his share. After the third generation, Ng Soo Teng, took over, the eatery shifted to the current premises in 1993, and rebranded as Setapak Teochew Restaurant. Till this day, the founder’s portrait and the original Song Kee signage are hung in the shop, carrying the family’s collective memories and core belief. 

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【Locality Info】

Setapak is located in the northeast part of Kuala Lumpur, about 7km from the city center. In the early days, it is considered an outskirt area on the way to Pahang. According to historical records, Setapak is already inhabited since 1862, strewn with tin mines and rubber plantations. In Chinese, the place name is a Hokkien homophonic with a nearby stream named Sungai Belongkong.

In Malay, ‘tapak’ means ‘step’ and ‘setapak’ means ‘one step’, probably referring to the close proximity of the suburb to Kuala Lumpur. Another explanation of the origin of its name traces to its historical roots. The earliest inhabitants of Setapak were the aborigines and the Minangkabaus. On 12th April 1884, the Frank Swettenham, the Resident of Selangor pleaded for the re-appointment of Batu Tapak as the headman of the aborigines living in that area, hence the name Setapak in honour of the headman.

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【Teochew Mooncakes Info】

『La Piah / Traditional Teochew Flaky Mooncake』

A type of Teochew mooncake that is baked, with a flaky and crispy crust, thick and soft fillings; round and shaped like a drum, baked to a golden hue.
The pastry crust is made up of water dough and shortened dough, where the shortened dough is wrapped in the water dough and rolled thinly. 
The fillings are of the sweet type, such as red bean paste, mung bean paste, preserved vegetable paste, mixed fruit paste, mixed preserved vegetable with mung bean paste, and mixed fruit with mung bean paste. 
The preserved vegetable paste is made using sweet preserved vegetables, stir-fried for two hours to get rid of moisture.
The mixed fruit paste is made using lard, candied winter melon, dried tangerine, orange peel, sunflower seeds, white sesame, and sugar.

『La Ko / Glutinous Rice Pudding』

A type of Teochew mooncake that is steamed, with a bouncy skin and soft, smooth fillings. There are black and white variations, where the skin of the black variation contains black sesame.
Made using steamed glutinous rice flour mixed with lard and sugar.
Filled with mung bean paste or yam paste, but no longer the traditional mixed fruit paste due to modern dietary changes.
Traditional mixed fruit paste: Fatty pork is marinated with refined sugar over an extended period, until the pork appears translucent and yields a bouncy texture. Usually paired with two pieces of dried tangerine and two pieces of candied winter melon.

『Yam Paste Mooncake』

A type of Teochew mooncake that is deep-fried, consisting of crispy layered crust, filled with soft and smooth yam paste encasing a salted egg yolk.
The pastry crust is made up of water dough and shortened dough, where the shortened dough is wrapped in the water dough, rolled and folded repeatedly, curled into a stick, and cut to yield spiralled layers. 
Yam paste is a traditional Teochew dessert, a must-have at Teochew wedding banquets, symbolising “sweet from the beginning till the end”. Steamed yam is crushed into paste form, mixed with sugar, lard, candied winter melon, gingko nuts et cetera.

『Five Spices』

A savory variation of Teochew mooncake, with a crispy crust, and its filling is sweet with a pleasant savory taste. Made up of flour, sesame, sugar, salt, spices, lard, and onion.

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COPYRIGHTS 2025 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD

Uncle Hon Tin Long is a daily fixture among the hawkers of Petaling Street. He pushes a trishaw cart onto Jalan Hang Lekir, and sells freshly made apam balik and nyonya apam balik under a colorful umbrella. Uncle Hon is always jovial, and can chat with passersby. Now over 70 years old, he has been in Petaling Street for almost six decades, running his own stall for over 40 years. 

A cast iron pan with a diameter of about two feet is preheated, filled with pancake batter that immediately fluffs up and bubbles. Uncle Hon scatters sugar across the surface, and covers it with the lid for a while. Upon lifting the lid, the sugar has caramelised, then he scatters crushed peanuts onto the pancake. Using a metal scraper, he carefully peels the pancake away from the pan, moving in a circular motion until the center point, folding the pancake over and removing it from the pan. Such is the making of a favorite street food — Ban Jian Kuih, also known as Man Chian Kuih, Ban Chang Kuih, Dai Gau Min, or Apam Balik in Malay.

At the age of 15, Uncle Hon left his hometown Seremban to make a living at Kuala Lumpur. He worked at one of the “Four Greatest Restaurants of Petaling Street”, Seng Kee, for quite a few years, becoming experienced in making dim sum and pastries. After having a family, he found it hard to make ends meet, therefore he decided to start his own business. Uncle Hon did some market research within Petaling Street, and found out that nobody was selling apam balik in the vicinity, the closest stall would be at Bukit Bintang. Therefore, he underwent research and development, and mastered the making of apam balik after a few attempts. With satisfactory results, he started his own business.

Uncle Hon used to rent a room in a shophouse on Jalan Hang Lekir, storing his trishaw stall in the back lane, pushing it onto the streets to do business during daytime and put it back at night. After the year 2000, the shophouse was rebuilt into Tang City Food Court. He moved to Cheras, but still stores his trishaw stall in the same back lane. Every morning around 7AM, Uncle Hon takes the LRT to Petaling Street, enjoys breakfast with his friends at the food court, and opens his stall at 8AM. Procedures such as boiling pandan water and mixing the pancake batter are carried out beside his stall, so that he can always replenish throughout the day.

In recent years, Petaling Street has become a famous tourist spot in Kuala Lumpur, Uncle Hon’s business is flourishing. Mrs Hon used to work her own job and take care of their children. After they have grown up, then only she starts to help Uncle Hon selling apam balik at the stall. As she has problems walking, she rides a taxi to and fro, returning home around 1.30PM, a Myanmar helper takes over her duty at the stall. With their assistance, it’s easier for Uncle Hon to concentrate on making apam balik, and he also gets to chat jovially with friends, passersby, and customers.

Despite being busy at work everyday, and even keeping the stall open during Chinese New Year, Uncle Hon is optimistic and cheerful, and never feels tired. He enjoys interacting with people on a daily basis, and has no plans for retirement at the moment, continuing to work as his health allows. Slices of apam balik and nyonya apam balik, cheers and laughter, his life is full of sweetness and aroma.

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【Apam Balik Info】

The origins of apam balik dates back to 1855, during the Qing dynasty, when General Zuo ZongTang (also known as General Tso) led his troops to FuJian to repel the Taiping Rebellion. 

“In order to feed the army, he (Tso) gave them salty pancakes improved with cane sugar and peanuts that were plentiful in Fujian, making it easy to carry and eat.

This pancake gradually spread in Fujian, becoming an affordable and convenient street snack, and was brought to Nanyang (Southeast Asia) with the early Hokkien immigrants,” – Xie Yanwei, food writer, as translated from Hong Kong Economic Journal

The Peranakan (Straits Chinese) improvised using local ingredients, namely rice flour, coconut milk, eggs, and dessicated coconut, familiarly known as Nyonya apam balik. 

有你 UNI Production
Producer : Daniel Lim
Cinematographer : Amelia Lim / Michael Lerk
Drone : Daniel Lim
Video Editor : Amelia Lim
Copywriter : Pua Hui Wen

COPYRIGHTS 2025 ECHINOIDEA SDN BHD