Digital Era Phased Out Their Printing Business, So This Couple Became Min Jiang Kueh Hawkers

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The challenges of delivering parcels 

To keep their printing shop going, the couple took up delivery as a sideline. “Then we encountered the Covid-19 lockdown,” shares Ching Ching. She recounts: “At that time, almost every industry was at a standstill, so we continued to deliver goods to subsidise our printing business.”

While the global economy picked up after the pandemic, print unfortunately remained a sunset industry. Up until this year, Ching Ching and Kim Yong were still working at their part-time gig delivering shoppers’ orders rain or shine.

“At the same time, we were getting older. The prices for making deliveries kept falling, but the goods became heavier and heavier,” Ching Ching recalls. The couple struggled to transport bulky parcels door-to-door, especially in inclement weather.

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Daughter suggest that they become hawkers

Earlier this year, their only daughter read about NEA’s hawker incubation programme in a news report. The inspired 28-year-old encouraged her parents to try out a different career path so that they wouldn’t have to be exposed to the sun and rain. “Her heart ached when she saw us working such a physically demanding job at our age,” Kim Yong shares.

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He and his wife signed up for cooking classes at the Asian Culinary Institute, and enrolled in the hawker incubation programme. They decided to sell min jiang kueh, as Kim Yong was fond of eating the old-school pancake.

For their apprenticeship, they were assigned to ‘study’ under min jiang kueh chain Granny’s Pancake’s founder Billy Ng, 58, training for a year before the couple branched out to open their own stall at Circuit Road in November. Around the same time, they closed their printing shop for good.

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Although hawking still requires physical labour, the cheerful couple reckon that it is much more manageable to work indoors. These days, they open their stall at 6am, six days a week. “We open so early ’cos we just prefer starting our day early,” Ching Ching laughs. “Hawkers work hard to earn a living, so I hope everyone can support them.”

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The min jiang kueh

Ching Ching and Kim Yong offer four classic min jiang kueh flavours at their stall: Peanut ($1.20/ slice), Red Bean ($1.20/ slice), Coconut ($1.20/ slice) and Peanut Butter ($1.40/ slice). Buy six slices and you get an extra piece free; buy 10 and get two pieces free.

They buy their flour and grated coconut from their mentor Billy. “He told me to get my red bean paste from [fifth-gen traditional shop] Kwong Cheong Thye, and my friend supplies me with grated peanuts,” shares Ching Ching.

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Fab pancakes

Despite being very new hawkers with no F&B experience, the couple makes really good min jiang kueh. Ching Ching and Kim Yong take turns cooking the batter and spreading toppings on the pancakes.

In an earlier interview with 8days.sg, the couple’s mentor Billy Ng of Granny’s Pancake told us that a good slice of min jiang kueh is “fluffy and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. It can’t stick to your teeth”.

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Going by Billy’s standards, his disciples have pretty much earned an A grade. We scarfed down a slice of Peanut Pancake fresh off the griddle, sliced with almost ruler-like precision, and found it very satisfying.

The pillowy, beautifully-cooked slice had a hint of maltiness, similar to Billy’s excellent version (after all, both stalls use the same flour mix), while the fragrant, sugary grated peanuts that Ching Ching buys from her friend offered a moreish crunch with just the right amount of sweetness.

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We would have preferred a slightly browner and crispier crust, but that didn’t deter us from hoovering up four pieces at one go, even for the tasty Coconut Pancake that was made around 20 minutes before consumption. Despite the lag, the min jiang kueh’s texture didn’t suffer much or turn hopelessly soggy, and remained nicely fluffy with a generous layer of sweet, juicy bright orange coconut shreds.

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The Red Bean and Peanut Butter flavours are also worth trying; Kwong Cheong Thye’s thick, good quality red bean paste goes well with the pancake, and so does the creamy peanut butter that Ching Ching drizzles over our slice before serving with a scattering of crunchy peanuts. Very yummy.

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The details 

Ching’s Pancake is a #01-55 79 Circuit Road Food Centre, 79 Circuit Rd, S370079. Tel: 9388-2132. Open daily except Mon, 6am-2pm.

Photos: Dillon Tan

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