FOR many customers, the more than 100-year-old Hup Hoe Biscuit shop in Simpang Ampat in south Seberang Perai district holds many fond childhood memories.
Manned by its family’s third generation now, it began as a small shop in the town in 1914. Then, in 2003, the biscuit company shifted to its new double-storey building in Jalan Besar, off the main road, and has been there ever since.
The shop, which is selling more than 100 types of biscuits, is an attraction for many customers as far as Kuala Lumpur and other states.
The biscuits are put into glass containers, which are stacked in cabinets for customers to choose from.
In an interview with Buletin Mutiara recently, Looi Li Fong, 41, who has been assisting her husband to run the business for more than a decade, talked about the good-old days biscuits that are still being sold at their shop.
“For instance, you can find bread sticks, bread rusks, pong pneah, sesame biscuits and many of the other items, which are close to any of your childhood memory.
“During our grandparents’ era, we used to have bread sticks with black coffee early morning and I think that many people nowadays rarely have the chance to enjoy such breakfast.
“This is because most of the people are now having a different type of breakfast compare to those days.
“Although time has gone by, all these good-old-days biscuits can still be found here in our Hup Hoe Biscuit shop.
“Besides that, the usual pong-pneah, bread sticks, bread rusks and some other type of biscuits are hand-made by us.
“We do it ourselves as we have our own processing machines behind our premises,” she said.
The softly-spoken Looi also explained the different stages of the production process.
“We maintain a traditional method of producing biscuits to ensure its quality and freshness.
“Except for the process of mixing the flour, the remaining process is all hand-made. We started early morning to make the biscuits and we try to accommodate customers’ requests if we receive any large orders.
“In fact, we will work extra hours when we receive many orders.
“On top of that, we have a few of the ‘old antiques’ that are used to stamp the name of the company. These have been used for more than a decade since the shop was established,” she added.
In recent times, their business has taken a knock because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
“We have experienced a 50% dip of income since last year.
“However, we are now doing our level best to sell our biscuits through online platform to cut losses.
“We try to expand our business,” she said.
Also present was Bukit Tambun assemblyman Goh Choon Aik.
For more information, visit Hup Hoe’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChopHupHoe/
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis