Too pau-werfully good to resist
Rantau’s famous steamed bun maker struggling to meet demand
SEREMBAN: The 70-year-old boss of the famous steamed buns in Rantau town initially refused to be interviewed.
The reason being that he didn’t want to disappoint his customers.
“We don’t want more publicity. We are not able to make more pau (Chinese steamed buns) already.
“We don’t want to disappoint our customers,” Yau Hwa Lin said in an interview at his Hing Hwa coffee shop which he finally agreed to after plenty of persuasion.
In the past few days, he said several media members have been wanting to interview him and take photos of the shop.
“All our buns were sold out every day even on normal days. Due to the by-election, more people come to the town wanting to try the steamed buns.
“These few days, all our pau were sold out as soon as they are out of the steamer,” he said.
With Qing Ming Festival approaching, Yau said many locals who work out of town were coming back to visit their ancestors’ graves and he expects the demand for buns which was already high to become even higher.
“Some also buy the buns as offerings to their ancestors,” he said.
Hing Hwa Coffee shop has been operating for more than 50 years and besides steamed buns, they also serve kaya toasts and half-boiled eggs, and according to media reports, the freshly-made steamed bun is one of the must-eat foods.
Yau said since his father came from Hainan, the buns he makes could be considered Hainan-style buns.
He added that he makes about 200 buns per day six days a week, and is assisted by his 68-year-old wife, Tan Ah Moi who said they made the dough and the filling from scratch.
“That is why we can only make 200 buns a day. They are freshly-made and handmade following a recipe from my late father-in-law,” Tan said.
“We start preparing at 10am and the buns will be ready by 1pm. The pork buns and the red bean buns are our bestsellers.
“We make the red bean paste ourselves from real red beans. We never add other green beans or sweet potatoes,” she said, explaining the reasons why the buns were popular in the town.
Asked if their children would take over his business, Yau said their daughter was interested.
“She knows how to make the buns. So customers do not have to worry that they won’t be able to have this anymore one day,” he quipped.