Traditional handmake biscuit shops in Ipoh

by Chen Choi Pin
Photo by Chen Choi Pin

There are a lot of old shop and traditional business along Sultan Iskandar Shah road across Kinta River. Within this street there are a few traditional biscuit shops, which just with their history already able to attract a lot of tourists. Among all the biscuit, traditional Hiong Bang( 香饼) is one of the best well known biscuit in Ipoh. One of these shops is Ching Han Guan Biscuit Shop (钟汉元饼铺) which still committed to high quality handmade traditional biscuits.

Ching Han Guan Biscuit Shop (钟汉元饼铺)

This Ching Han Guan Biscuit Shor has been in business for more than 60 years. The second generation business owner, Ching Sui Hou says that the most famous biscuit in the shop is their new invention, which is Lotus meat floss biscuit (肉丝莲蓉). Customer can also order wedding biscuit or mooncake from the shop as well.

Lotus meat floss biscuit (肉丝莲蓉)

According to Ching, most of the biscuit are handmade by themselves. They are using good quality of biscuit ingredients in making biscuit. All those biscuit are using original ingredient without machine manufactured.

The place of this traditional shop is full with different kinds of biscuit. Glass cases decorate the wall and huge glass bottles filled with various cookies such as peanut cookie, chocolate cookie and cream crackers. There are also ready packed biscuits such as the shop’s famous lotus meat floss biscuit, the traditional Heong Peah (香餅), Sa Ke Ma (薩騎馬) and Hap Tou Soh (核桃酥).

Various types of well packed biscuit.

Huge glass bottles filled with various cookies.

When you got the chance to visit Ipoh, make sure you don’t lose the opportunity to visit this biscuit shop.

High value of weld products

By Leong Soo Seang
Photo by Leong Soo Seang

The weld-based product such as rice cookers and pots was important for the people and common used by the people for their daily life during old days. Currently, despite the weld industry still can survive, most of them has faced the challenging of losing their heirs. Nowadays, most of the teenagers are become more educated and tend to working in the office.

Wong Kuang Sin (left) and his younger brother, Wong Kuang MIng (right) were take in charge of the welding-product shop now.

Wong Kuang Sin, 46 years old, who is one of the supervisor of the product based-welding shop currently. The shop has been located at Ipoh more than fifty years now. He said that the shop has operated by his grandfather in the early years and he is the third generation to operate it.

The welding-products shop that has been across several decades.

However, the lower incomes only enable them to maintain their daily life. The problem of labor shortage has lead their production become decrease and need to buy the stocks from outside. Wong is explained that they only will make themselves for some specific containers.

The problem of labor shortage has lead the Wong Kuang SIn need to get the ready-stocks from outside, but sometimes he also will welding himself.

This container that was used by the house was welded by the Wong Kuang Sin.

This large pot was make by Wong Kuang Sin.

“I’m the last generation that was engaged in the weld business. As a father, i hope my sons can choose the better working environment. "

Since he was a teenager, he has begun to help his father to manage their weld business. Wong has been involved in the weld business around thirty years now.

Wong Kuang Sin was passionate for his work even need to work under the high temperature.

Recent years, there are having foreign tourists have visited their working places and giving the high admiration for their weld products. Most of them were felt excited and placed the high interested on it. The responses of those tourists always comforted him.

They are never having any changes about the furnishings of the shop; each of the things in the shop also has its historical values behind that.

"There didn't have any changes in the shop and some of them still can use. Sometimes, the tourists were felt unbelievable when they saw it."

This cabinet already exist since Grandpa's era and still can use now.

Because the development of technology, some of the traditional artisan industry has faced their challenges to survived in the modern world. For the weld business, the cost of white steels and scrap irons has been increased recent years. It has forced the owner of the shop need to increase the selling prices of their products. 

Wong added that although the prices of the weld products have been increase, however, the prices still in the control under the lower range. In addition, the customers can requested to make the weld products based on their own need and designs.

Using rattan furniture to enhance your home

by Chen Choi Pin

Photo by Chen Choi Pin

If you are lack of time to enjoy the beauty of nature due to the busy daily life, having some rattan furniture in your home can make your home looks natural. Rattan furniture is a result of a natural product and nowadays is used to make beautiful cane furniture to enhance any style of any home.

A rattan chair adds a warm feeling to the room. Rattan can be woven into many styles of chairs, from simple rattan dining chairs to wide, comfortable lounge chairs.

Although making rattan furniture can consider as traditional industry, however this traditional industry has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. People are recognizing that the designs of rattan furniture have changed and there is more style than ever now accommodate most people’s homes.

Nowadays people that emphazised on efficiency are normally will preferred to buy rattan furniture on the modern furniture shop. However, hand make rattan furniture has a big different with the machine make rattan furniture. There is traditional hand make rattan furniture that located at Jalan Market, Ipoh. 





This is Phang Kwi rattan furniture shop.

 According to the owner of Phang Kwi, Phang Yuan Chong, this is the one and only hand make rattan furniture shop left in Ipoh!



Phang Yuan Chong is expert in hand make rattan furniture that hard to find nowadays.



“There are less and less hand make rattan furniture now. Normally the middle-age generations are interested in hand make rattan furniture compare to the younger generation. All the furniture in this shop is made by me.” said Phang.

Different type of rattan chairs can find in Phang Kwi rattan furniture shop.





Basket makes from rattan.

Rattan furniture has a natural beauty about it but with modern designs it can now be taken from one room to another within a home, placed into another room and it will still look great.

The benefits of rattan, aside from the warm style, include durability and weight.  For as lightweight as they are, a rattan chair is extremely durable, lasting two to three decades if well-maintained indoors.