Millennial Gives Up Tax Accountant Job To Sell Min Jiang Kueh, Is Happy Despite Lower Pay & ‘Torturous’ Work
These days, Li Jiali wakes up at around 4.30am for work. Still groggy, she makes her way to her hawker stall Mian Mian Bu Duan at Bukit Merah Central Food Centre, where she begins preparing min jiang kueh by 5.30am.
“In the morning it takes a lot for me to wake up. My energy level is low, so I have to pace myself,” the 36-year-old tells 8days.sg.
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She was also struggling with her mental health due to work and personal issues, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder six years ago. She recounted: “The doctor gave me medication for anxiety and depression, and one day I took cough syrup and [paracetamol] for a fever. I think the mixture of these medicines sent me into mania, and I ended up hospitalised.”
Jiali’s doctor recommended her to take up a “less stressful job”, which prompted her to pursue her passion of working in F&B. She joined homegrown coffee chain Dutch Colony Coffee Co. as a barista, and was later promoted to the head barista position.
Hawker life
In 2020, she left the company to become a hawker. “I decided I wanted to do something for myself instead of being an employee,” she explains. She took up an NEA hawker apprenticeship, and worked at min jiang kueh chain Granny’s Pancake for a year and a half, where she learnt how to make traditional pancakes.
A self-professed min jiang kueh lover since childhood, Jiali was a regular at Granny’s Pancake and got to know the boss of the brand. “He trained me to be delicate with my pancakes. There is less room for error with min jiang kueh — it’s just kueh and the filling so you have to get both right to make a good pancake,” she explains.
“My mentor advised me to open at a less busy location due to my condition. I like this location ’cos it’s not very busy or ‘happening’, but it’s a good place to start,” she says.
The menu
At Mian Mian Bu Duan, Jiali offers five flavours: the classic Peanut, Peanut Butter, Coconut and Red Bean ($1.50 to $1.70 a slice) and a mod Peanut Butter Jelly ($2.20 a slice). The min jiang kueh is also available for purchase in whole pan portions.Jiali explains that she recently increased her prices from $1.20 to $1.50 per piece due to rising costs, her second price hike after raising it from 90 cents. “Initially when I increased my prices there were people who said my min jiang kueh was expensive. But I have to be nice about it and explain to them that I want to make it the best it can be, within the existing model,” she shares.
Jiali points out: “I want it to be tasty and healthy. I know this is food for the masses and should be economical, but old folks can eat this every day. It’s a small wish for me to increase the value of my pancake.”
Mod min jiang kueh fillings
Jiali describes her pancake flavours as “reinvented”. For instance, her coconut filling is a plain white — old-school bakery-style — instead of the typical bright orange shredded coconut found in min jiang kueh. “No colouring is good,” she notes.She gets her red bean paste from traditional Geylang shop Kwong Cheong Thye, and mixes her own grated peanuts with sesame seeds for the peanut flavour. Her peanut butter is also loaded with a “secret” ingredient. “To make it taste more dimensional,” Jiali quips.
Finding fulfilment as a young hawker
Jiali admits that working in a food stall is “mentally demanding”, with its early hours and physical labour. “You’re stuck in a small space and it’s very hot. Your hands are in pain, but you still have to beat the batter. That’s not happiness. That’s torture,” she laughs.There are also moments of self-doubt: “In the morning I sometimes find myself having a lot of fears and expectations. It comes when I’m beating the batter — I overthink it even though it’s just flour and water. Because it’s something so simple, it’s very hard to do,” Jiali says.
There’s also the pressure of having to stay on form and be accountable to her customers. She points out: “My batter, my flavours, handling customers — everything is based on myself. If you are not here to maintain the quality, that’s the end of it. You have to constantly want to improve.”
But still, being a hawker is a “happy choice” for her. She muses: “Making pancakes is very therapeutic. You get to use your hands and make something for people to eat. I find it more meaningful. There’s a huge sense of satisfaction when customers buy and enjoy my pancakes. Since it’s my passion, I tell myself every day that I want to be good at this and preserve the culture.”
Adjusting to a hawker’s income
Her current income as a hawker is “not fantastic”, and Jiali shares that she had to adjust her lifestyle to reduce her expenses. “I have no time to spend money anyway,” she jokes.She acknowledges that she still has certain material wants like travelling. “But I don’t stress myself about things I desire. I try to focus my intention on cooking and selling pancakes at a reasonable price for customers to enjoy,” avers Jiali, who adds: “It doesn’t make sense if I come here and only think about making money. I’m just doing my best every day and earning what I can.”
Peanut Butter Jelly Pancake, $2.20 a slice (8 Days Pick!)
There’s something special about the taste of Mian Mian Bu Duan’s min jiang kueh — a unique malty, toasty flavour to the soft, chewy pancake with a crisp shell.For her peanut butter flavour, Jiali drizzles the freshly-cooked pancake with her proprietary peanut butter and grape-flavoured jelly. Like a PBJ sandwich, with pancake ‘bread’. It makes for a satisfying piece of min jiang kueh, though the grape jelly may be too sweet for folks who like their nosh siew dai or kosong.
Peanut Butter Pancake, $1.70 (8 Days Pick!)
If you’d rather skip the newfangled grape jelly flavour, go for this peanut butter version instead. The creamy PB here has a decadent, slightly umami note to it (Jiali keeps mum about her proprietary recipe).It’s paired with a generous scattering of sugary, sesame seed-laced crunchy crushed peanuts, which makes our slice of pancake very moreish with a robust cup of kopi from a nearby drinks stall.
Peanut Pancake, $1.50
The same fragrant crushed peanuts mix is used for this flavour, though we find the nuts rather dry, crumbly and messy to eat without peanut butter holding it together. It’s worth that extra 20 cents to order the peanut butter min jiang kueh instead.
Red Bean Paste Pancake, $1.50
A pretty thick layer of tau sar is smeared on the griddle cake and folded over. It makes for a homely, simple snack, but we find this rather plain and not as shiok as the heartier peanut butter or coconut flavours.
Coconut Pancake, $1.50 (8 Days Pick!)
Instead of bright orange grated coconut like what you’d get with putu mayam, this min jiang kueh flavour has a white coconut filling that boasts a shiok crunch and juicy sweetness when we bite into our pancake. Lovely.Mian Mian Bu Duan is at #02-17 Bukit Merah Central Food Centre, 163 Bukit Merah Central,, S150163. Tel: 9658-2669. Open daily except Sun, 10am-2pm (or till sold out, usually around 1pm). www.instagram.com/mianmianbuduan
Photos: Aik Chen
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