I love kueh. There’s just something about the texture and chewiness that speaks to my, er, belly. Growing up in a Teochew family, kueh was a staple for breakfast and tea-time – specifically, soon kueh and png kueh. I came across Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh by chance while browsing social media, and decided to look more into them.
Yoon’s doesn’t just do kueh. They have another operation within their premises at Joo Seng Green, known as Yoon’s Social Kitchen. They were previously located at MacPherson in a much smaller space.
Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh and Yoon’s Social Kitchen aims to achieve 2 things: firstly, to preserve and pass on traditional Teochew culinary traditions and recipes, and secondly, to rehabilitate female ex-drug offenders. The Social Kitchen provides them with sustainable and gainful employment in a safe environment, allowing them to learn various skills such as cooking and kueh-making, entrepreneurship, and customer service.
The venture is a joint effort between Thalia Lee and Qara Yoon. While Qara and her mother helm the culinary aspect of Yoon’s, Thalia champions the business’s social cause. She previously served as the executive director of The Turning Point, a charity organisation dedicated to providing refuge and support for women in need.
Yoon’s also hosts kueh-making workshops – they cater to both team-bonding and corporate functions, as well as individuals who just want to learn how to make some really good kueh.
What I tried at Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh
While Yoon’s sells other dishes such as chicken curry, Hokkien mee and kaya toast, I am, of course, here for the kueh. The glorious, beautiful kueh. Ahem. There are a total of 7 different varieties, all of which are made fresh daily in-house.
All the kueh here are made without any pork or lard – Qara told me the recipes originally included pork belly, but to allow more people to enjoy her creations, she modified them to use chicken fat and dried shrimp instead.
The “sweet kueh” includes Cikak Kueh (S$2 each) and Tiam Tor Kueh (S$2 each). Both varieties are available with either a bean paste or crushed peanut filling.
Both fillings are excellent. The peanut is fragrant, and is just sweet enough without being cloying or masking out the natural flavours. The bean paste is incredibly smooth and moreish, and also goes down a treat. While the fillings used are the same in both kueh, the outer skins are noticeably different.
The Tiam Tor Kueh is very similar to ang ku kueh, but the Cikak Kueh is very unique and my favourite. The skin of the kueh is made with Gnaphalium affine, also known as Jersey cudweed or 鼠麹草 (mouse yeast grass), which Yoon’s imports from Thailand. They carefully clean it, then boil it down to extract the essence for this kueh. (Qara shares that they’ve tried to grow this herb locally, but it failed to thrive.)
The result is a very chewy skin with a snappy texture and a slightly herbaceous, bitter note that is very addictive. This is a “must-get” when you visit Yoon’s.
Yoon’s also has Jiah Soon Kueh (S$2.50 each) and Mang Guang Kueh (S$1.50 each). I was slightly puzzled, and Qara explained that traditionally, soon kueh consisted purely of bamboo shoots. “Most soon kueh outside is all mang guang, because it’s cheaper,” she shared. “So to differentiate, I name mine Jiah Soon Kueh, because it’s the real deal. Only bamboo shoots. If you like mang guang, I have mang guang kueh.”
Visually, at first glance, there isn’t a lot of difference between the Mang Guang Kueh and Jiah Soon Kueh’s filling, except that the bamboo is more opaque. But they’re very different, taste and texture-wise. The skins of both kueh are faultless, while the Mang Guang Kueh is a lot more crunchy and slightly sweeter, the Jiah Soon Kueh has a softer mouthfeel and is more vegetal.
Old Teochew: Tasty satay bee hoon & $4 bowls of mee siam sold out by lunch
There’s also the classic Png Kueh (S$1.50 each), which is a kueh I usually prefer pan-fried so the outside is nice and crispy. Yoon’s rendition has a delightfully tender and chewy skin, with a very fragrant filling of glutinous rice, some sort of beans or peanuts, and mushrooms. It tasted different from other versions I’ve had, with a heavier savoury note.
The Yam Kueh (S$1.50 each) was new to me – I’d never had one before. It turned out to be a soft kueh filled with strips of tasty yam, with plenty of umami from the generous amount of dried shrimp.
If you want something to go along with all the kueh, Yoon’s also has local favourites, such as Mee Siam (S$4.50), Fried Sotong (Hokkien) Mee (S$7.90) and Curry Chicken Drumstick & Potato Rice Set (S$7.90/S$8.40). The chicken drumstick was stewed till fork tender, and the spices had permeated through the meat.
The curry is closer to a rendang in terms of the style, and the spices used were very strong in the gravy. I usually prefer my curries more coconutty, but I also really enjoyed this version. The chap chye was delicious as well, and went great with the curry.
Final thoughts
As far as Teochew kueh goes, Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh is now right at the top of my list. Not only are the kueh fresh and delicious, each one goes towards a noble cause to help someone in need. It makes the food taste that much better.
Expected damage: S$4 – S$10 per pax
Price: $
Our Rating: 5 / 5
Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh
4 Upper Aljunied Lane, Joo Seng Green, #01-18, Singapore 360004
Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh
4 Upper Aljunied Lane, Joo Seng Green, #01-18, Singapore 360004
