Hairdresser Turned Hawker Sells Yummy Burrito-Style Popiah At Telok Ayer Kopitiam

Like countless new food businesses, popiah hawker stall The Wrap was born out of the pandemic. Hairdresser-turned-hawker Angela Koh, 55, first considered a career switch about six months ago. “It was a pretty hard decision on whether I should change my direction. I’ve been a hairdresser for over 40 years, but the pandemic has really affected my work.”

In August, Angela took the plunge and opened her popiah stall at the hipster-looking Telok Ayer Coffee Shop. The modern, spacious kopitiam has industrial-style black ceiling fans and stools, jazzed up with geometric tiles and marble-print tables.

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Before opening The Wrap, Angela – who has striking coppery-red hair – was the owner of a boutique salon located in Link Hotel in Tiong Bahru. “When Covid hit, the hotel released us from the lease earlier as they turned into a quarantine facility. I became a freelance hairdresser but business kept worsening,” she says.

Her mind immediately turned to popiah, a business idea that she explored a year before the pandemic. “I’ve always been creative and I love hands-on work. I love popiahs, especially the process of wrapping them, as I get to work with my hands. In 2019, I opened a popiah stall (alongside her salon biz) in a Tiong Bahru coffee shop but I had to stop three months later due to personal reasons.”

This time, however, Angela is determined to make it work. “I knew my new job [as a freelance hairdresser] may not be sustainable, that’s why I wanted a change in direction. In F&B, you get an immediate response. I have confidence that people will like my food, so I wanted to give it a try.”

The stall also serves mee siam, which we didn’t get to try. The gravy is prepared from a premade paste, though Angela plans to make it from scratch when she has more free time in future.

“I’m actually at a late age [to start a biz], but I have a son to raise. I’m a single mummy and I want to do something to support him until he’s totally independent,” she says. Don’t expect Angela’s 13-year-old son to show up at the stall anytime soon, though. “He’s a zhai nan (mandarin for homebody),” she quips. “He knows that mummy is working hard. It’s good that he doesn’t want to come and help... I don’t want to be disturbed!”

Angela admits that business has been difficult so far. In particular, the directive of working from home becoming default for employees able to do so – which is in effect from Sep 27 to Oct 24 – was especially challenging for Angela, whose stall is located in the CBD.

“Previously, we had more office workers [visiting the stall] on weekdays. I was definitely worried [about the tightened measures],” she says. Currently, Angela sells about 30 rolls of popiah a day – a far cry from her initial goal of 100. Despite the shortfall, she remains optimistic about the future. “I know it’ll take time to grow my brand. My aim is not just to do retail. I want to offer DIY wrapping kits and home deliveries eventually. My long-term goal is to start a franchise!”

Angela’s positive nature is also reflected in little details like handwritten inspirational quotes on small tags that are clipped on the food baskets that the popiahs are served on.

“I’m a woman of few words, but I have a lot of thoughts that I like to express through writing. It’s been a tough time and I’d like to encourage people, so I take down [inspirational] quotes and share them on my tags,” she says.

She adds: “Seeing the smiles on my customers’ faces and hearing that they enjoy my food are the most rewarding parts of my experience so far.”

The hawker tells us she does not follow any traditional recipes down to a T (the snack is believed to have originated from Fujian Province in China and has spawned variants across Asia, such as the nyonya version).

“I learned how to make popiahs from my neighbours. I’ve always loved the aunties’ popiah so I picked it up from them more than 10 years ago. After that, I just kept practising on my own and making them for my friends.”

Angela does not use bamboo shoots, which some consider a staple ingredient, in her popiah. “The recipe I learned from did not include it. I personally do not like the smell of bamboo shoots,” she says.

Since learning the recipe more than a decade ago, Angela has made certain tweaks, such as swapping pork lard for olive oil and using more vegetables to create a healthier popiah. While most popiah sellers only use turnip as the braised fixture, Angela’s version also includes cabbage, french beans, leek and carrot. “It’s my personal preference – I like to have more veggies in my popiah.”

It’s also worth noting that Angela fries each vegetable separately before combining them in the slow cooker for braising. “Yes it’s labour-intensive but I find that it’s more fragrant to cook them this way. If you mix everything together, the cooking will not be as even. Thank god I have a part-time assistant to help with shredding and chopping veggies!”

Another characteristic that sets her popiahs apart from competitors is their sheer size. “My popiahs are fuller compared to others. I find it tastier this way and I also want to provide quality for customers. Otherwise, why would they pay $4.50 for my food? I have to make sure I provide value,” says Angela.

Besides slow-cooked veggies, the generous popiah fillings include lettuce, omelette, beancurd, bean sprouts, prawns, coriander, deep-fried flour bits, ground peanuts and chicken sausage or floss.

Angela picks up fresh popiah skin from a popiah maker at Havelock Road every day. “I’m a fussy eater, so I only want to use the best. I found the shop when I started making popiahs on my own. When I started the business, I knew I had to order from them as well.”

The hawker minimises waste by using leftover skins as a sturdy ‘base’ for the popiah. Angela cuts day-old skins into smaller pieces and places one in the centre of the fresh crepe to create a firmer foundation for the fillings.

We noticed right away that the popiah here is at least fifteen percent larger than your typical rolls. Impressively, the soft, chewy and paper-thin skin holds the hulking stuffing extremely well. Angela insists on not slicing the roll into multiple pieces – instead, the popiah is neatly halved and you’re meant to eat them with your hands (disposable gloves are provided) like a burrito.

As a result, the first bite is especially satisfying – we could taste the freshness and juiciness of the slow-cooked veggies that are heavily spiked with fragrant hae bee (dried shrimp) as well as the crunchiness of dry ingredients like diced beancurd and crispy flour bits all at once. In particular, we enjoyed the springy prawns (you get three per roll) and sweet slivers of chicken lup cheong best.

The hearty flavours are further enhanced by smears of garlic paste, chilli and sweet sauce, creating a good balance of sweet, savoury and spicy notes. With every order, Angela thoughtfully provides a complimentary small bowl of plain porridge as a palate cleanser and to minimise potential garlic breath – an unusual but lovely touch for customers who are returning to the office after their meal.

Apart from replacing the Chinese sausage with chicken floss, this popiah contains the same ingredients as the signature roll. We find this version to be slightly more savoury, though the fluffy texture of chicken floss was difficult to detect in the fully packed wrap.

A pleasing contrast of textures between the crispy pastry tart shell (from a supplier) and the same moist popiah filling as well as the dry elements like diced lup cheong and bean sprouts. Chock full of ingredients, Angela’s shells resemble heaping domes rather than bite-sized canapes – not that we’re complaining.

Strawberry and kueh pie tee sound like an unlikely combo, but we found ourselves enjoying the occasional burst of tartness and refreshing, fruity scent that the chopped fresh berries added to the traditional snack. As this is a limited menu item, do call ahead to check its availability before heading down.

Generously crammed with quality ingredients, this is one of the largest popiahs we’ve tried, which makes its rather high price point of $4.50 per roll more palatable (one is enough to satisfy modest appetites). Plus, it’s shiok to simply grab the roll with your hands and eat it like a burrito. Despite its size, the popiah is light and refreshing, without the overpowering garlicky flavour typical in some traditional versions.

The Wrap is at #01-01 Telok Ayer Coffee Shop, 121 Telok Ayer St, S068590. Open daily except Sun, 10am to 4pm. Instagram. For more info, call 8669 0038.

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Photos: Kelvin Chia