The soon kueh that became an Instagram star

SINGAPORE — When you think about where you might get your hands on a silky piece of soon kueh (turnip dumplings), a hipster third-wave coffee house or a fusion restaurant is probably not the first place that would come to mind.

But that has changed.

Meet Nick Soon, a kueh evangelist whose tiny stall in Berseh Food Centre has transformed the humble soon kueh, gu chye kueh (chive dumpling) and png kueh (rice dumpling). The 48-year-old opened One Kueh At A Time on Dec 20, 2014, after a career crisis.

“I was searching for a change after working in insurance for more than 20 years,” said Soon, who was a financial consultant. “The 2008 financial crisis also got me thinking about whether there was more to life than just chasing material success, but it took me three to four years before I finally did it.”

Soon learnt the skills from his parents, who had taught themselves to make these traditional kuehs and sold them to friends as a small side business. Soon’s initial plan to sell wholesale to shops and cafes had failed to take off. Undeterred, he decided to go directly to customers by opening a hawker stall.

“My parents didn’t have the guts to set up a stall as they didn’t think it was possible. They were really happy when I opened One Kueh At A Time,” shared Soon. Before he knew it, the Instagram posts of his attempts at making photogenic kuehs started attracting die-hard foodies and followers to his stall. And a series of appearances at pop-up events such as Lepak at the National Museum in January last year quickly followed.

Soon’s experiences at those events opened up new possibilities: “I was approached by the organisers, and these pop-up events showed me how things can be done differently, such as styling the kuehs on wooden chopping blocks and creating a vegan version of the soon kueh to appeal to younger and health-conscious customers. In fact, the vegan version sold out quickly during a Night Fest pop-up event at the National Design Centre last year.”

THE KUEH ELEVATED

At the same time, One Kueh At A Time gained more popularity as the food scene got wind of his delicious handmade kuehs and his mid-life career switch. He even got his moment in the international spotlight with features on websites such as Huffington Post, Eater, CNN and Serious Eats.

More recently in May, Soon tied up with small plates restaurant Morsels as part of a kueh and wine pairing dinner where the traditional fillings were replaced with the likes of sakura ebi plated alongside miso barramundi while there is a yam paste kueh created for dessert. These dishes were done in collaboration with its owner chef Petrina Loh who created the fillings. “There was great synergy in the collaboration,” said Loh. “Nick’s trying to keep traditional food alive, and I’m constantly trying to weave traditional food into our fusion plates.”

And in what must seem like coming a full circle, his kuehs just got stocked in Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee last week.

As Soon’s kuehs are entirely handmade, he can only produce a limited number every day. The current space he has prevents him from hiring any apprentices, and Soon is looking for a larger space with a proper kitchen.

In the meantime, he is happy taking it, well, one kueh at a time. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think selling soon kueh could lead to all this. I’m so grateful for the response,” said Soon.

“I’ve met some mid-life executives who come up to me at the stall asking for advice about leaving their jobs, or sharing their dream of opening a food stall. I tell them ‘just do it’. If you don’t, you’d never know.”

One Kueh At A Time is located at #02-61 Berseh Food Centre. For more information, call 9795 6119.