The old-fashioned paper package is topped with a festive red brand flyer, tightly knotted with a thin string. Untie the string, remove the flyer, unwrap the paper package to reveal 12 small, round savoury mooncakes. Grab a piece and break apart layers of flaky crust, the filling is packed with umami, mildly oniony, with a hint of sweetness, yielding a springy texture. In Ayer Tawar,...
Sin Han Seong Restaurant
As the clock strikes 11A.M., Uncle Ling Hing Kooi rolls up the shutters of Sin Han Seong Restaurant, sunlight pours into the half-brick and half-wood double-storey old shophouse, lending brightness and warmth to the interior. The ancient wooden counter is his fortress, and the small round table opposite is laden with glass beer bottles, containing not beer but homemade barley drink instead. Uncle Ling arranges...
Handmade Bao in Petaling Street
Catty-corner to the Ka Yin Fui Kon building at Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur, a tarpaulin makeshift roof in the alley between two rows of double-storey shophouses shelters a crude hawker stall. Billows of steam arise from the multi-tiered bamboo steamer on top of the gas stove, marking the spot of Tuck Kee Dim Sum Pau. About 60 years ago, the alley was bustling with hawker...