Bakerzin Founder Now Sells Ang Ku Kueh ’Cos ‘I’m Chinese! I Should Be Ashamed If I Don’t Know My Heritage’s Desserts’
Chef Daniel Tay was once best known for his Western bakes. He tells 8days.sg that he’s going back to his Hokkien roots with Madam Ang KK, where he sells both traditional and mod flavours like truffle mushroom and hazelnut praline.
The space opposite Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Paragon shopping centre has been empty for the longest time. So we did a double take when we recently spotted a retro-hip kiosk there near the ATM machine, selling assorted ang ku kueh. Madam Ang KK offers a whopping 16 flavours of the traditional Hokkien snack, attractively displayed in shades of bright red, green, purple, yellow and black.
The week-old takeaway stand is opened by pastry chef Daniel Tay, 54, founder and group chairman of popular brands like modern Singaporean bake shop Old Seng Choong, cheesecake line Cat & The Fiddle, and the now-defunct bakery cafe chain Bakerzin. The chef who was once best known for his Western bakes like strawberry shortcake and macarons, tells 8days.sg that he’s going back to his Hokkien roots with projects like Old Seng Choong, and now Madam Ang KK.
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Is it because he’s Chinese?
“When I turned 40, I realised - I’m Chinese! I should be ashamed if I don’t know my Chinese desserts. I’m really good at making French and other western pastries, and people respect me for that, but when I reached 40, I realised I must have a deeper knowledge of my own [heritage’s] pastries,” Daniel explains of his decision to launch Madam Ang KK.
Traditionally, the kueh - which literally translates to ‘red tortoise cake’ in Hokkien - is made with glutinous rice flour skin and filled with a sweet filling like mung bean and peanuts. However, Madam Ang KK introduces a wide selection of sweet and savoury flavours that we’ve never seen elsewhere. Besides the classic mung bean and peanut, expect to find quirky fillings like Parma ham shallot oil, XO Scallop sauce and truffle mushroom.
Why ang ku kueh?
But why ang ku kueh in particular? Daniel tells us that though he is Hokkien, that’s not the primary reason he chose to specialise in this doughy treat. Instead, he explains: “It started when one of my factory staff had a baby. She wanted a one month party for her newborn, so we prepared ang ku kueh as a gift to her. We decided to learn how to make ang ku kueh well, whether we eventually sold it or not”.
“While working on [our ang ku kueh recipe], we created many different flavours. My team is very young, in their twenties and thirties, so they created some flavours that sounded funny, like the XO and braised pork, but when we ate it, it tasted great. Then [we realised] it’s workable and decided to open a shop,” Daniel explains.
He shares that he’s planning to expand Madam Ang KK soon with another kiosk in Square 2 mall at Novena, and a sit-down outlet with kopi at Parkway Parade.
Quirky flavours
Daniel and his team took around nine months to perfect their recipes. He claims that his ang ku kueh is different from those sold elsewhere. “The dough is different, and some of the filling is from Taiwan. Some of the savoury ang ku kueh are brushed with shallot oil on top,” Daniel says.
Is the chef veering a little too far away from tradition? Daniel says: “No, that’s why we still have the traditional flavours. I want to influence the young to look into our own culture and discover the things that we have and not always look to the west for inspiration. I want to showcase our tradition, but tweak it to make youths [more interested]”.
Currently, all of Madam Ang KK’s kuehs are made fresh daily at their central factory, and delivered to the kiosk.
His criteria for what makes good ang ku kueh is simple: “The skin should be a little bit chewy, and not too soft - it’s important that it’s QQ (springy). It has to have a bit of resistance when you bite into it,” he says.
Daniel’s staff aka Madam Ang KK
The menu
Madam Ang KK offers 16 ang ku kueh flavours, in three categories - classic, premium and delight. Classics include traditional fillings like mung bean, peanut, red bean and gula melaka coconut, while premium fillings offer more savoury gourmet flavours such as Parma ham and shallot oil, XO scallop sauce, yam and Iberico ham, braised meat and mung bean and truffle mushroom. Meanwhile, delight flavours include new-fangled sweet fillings like hazelnut praline, purple sweet potato and dark chocolate almond.
Daniel says his faves are the traditional mung bean and peanut, as well as the funkier braised meat and mung bean kueh.
The stall is currently running a buy four get one free and buy seven get two free promo for their kueh.
Lucky Mung, $1.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)
One of the few old-school ang ku kueh flavours on offer here. The glutinous rice flour dough is slightly sweet, soft and chewy with a good stretchy mouthfeel. Its skin is neither too thick or thin, cocooning pleasantly smooth, nutty mung bean paste. Each plump piece can be finished in about three bites. Yum.
Nutty Classic, $1.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Another quintessential ang ku kueh. Generously stuffed with finely crushed peanuts mottled with several larger chunks for a lightly crunchy mouthfeel. It’s just the right amount of sweet and salty, with a roasty hint. Delish.
XO Treasure, $2.80
The smooth, sticky paste is a blend of mung beans and XO sauce. There’s a strong whiff of slightly fishy dried scallops within the umami XO sauce. This one is a bit polarising.
Tender Braise, $2.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)
We agree with Daniel that this braised pork and mung bean offering is the best among the savoury flavours. The mild sweetness of the bean paste provides a gentle back note to the meaty richness of the minced pork braised with five spice powder, mushroom and black beans. Reminiscent of shui jing bao (crystal dumplings) or soon kueh.
Pang Pang Parma, $2.80
This cradles bits of Parma ham blended with lotus paste and shallot oil. The full-bodied, salty cured Italian ham dominated the filling so much we barely detected the lotus paste. An acquired taste.
Shroomy Truffle, $2.80
The chopped button mushrooms mixed with butter bean paste is muted in contrast to the rather heavy dose of truffle oil in this.
Hazelnut Crunch, $2.40 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Mung bean and hazelnut praline paste combine to form this deeply nutty number. We love the occasional chunks of crushed roasted hazelnut in it, which gave the gooey kueh a nice bite. Kinda like a chewy Ferrero Rocher.
Almond Noir, $2.40
Butter bean paste and dark chocolate party with bits of roasted almond nibs. Rich and a bit more bitter than sweet, this one is strictly for lovers of dark choc.
The details
Madam Ang KK is at #B1-K12 Paragon, 290 Orchard Rd, S238859. Open daily 9.30am - 8.30pm. Tel: 8859 3931. More info via Facebook and Instagram.
Photos: Roy Yap, Madam Ang KK
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