One Kueh At A Time: Ten Years On
It’s been 10 years since I last wrote about One Kueh At A Time (OKAT). Back then, Nick Soon had just walked away from a career in the insurance industry to try his hand at life as a hawker. The kueh were good, but to be completely honest, I remember wondering how long he would last.
Hawker life is tough and many who come in from the white-collar world don’t stay very long before retreating back to a comfortable air-conditioned office.
But a decade on, Nick and his girlfriend Karen are still at it. After closing their stall at Jalan Berseh, they went quiet for a while before reopening at Pandan Loop, where they stayed for a few years. That chapter eventually came to an end too, followed by another hiatus, before OKAT finally resurfaced at their current home in Ang Mo Kio.
Little has actually changed, though. There are a handful of new flavours, but the kueh are still made the same way, ie patiently, carefully, and by hand, one kueh at a time.
Not Your Usual Soon Kueh
So what makes their Soon Kueh different? For starters, they look more like gyoza than the Soon Kueh most of us grew up with. The skin is noticeably thinner and more refined, without that thick, doughy chew you often get. They’re also smaller in size, closer to an oversized har gow than the usual hefty Soon Kueh which gives each piece a more delicate, elegant bite.
But even if you were blindfolded and took a bite, you’d have no trouble identifying it as Soon Kueh. The familiar sweetness of the jicama (bang kwang), coupled with the unmistakable savoury hit of dried prawns, is a dead giveaway that this is still very much the Soon Kueh we know and love.
Soon Kueh or Dim Sum? It’s All About Perspective
So, when does a Soon Kueh become a Dim Sum? You might think it’s a strange question to ask, but there’s a reason for it. If you view this purely as Soon Kueh, then at $1.80 a piece, it does feel expensive, especially given the smaller size. But shift your perspective and think of it as a piece of dim sum instead, and $5.40 for three suddenly sounds quite reasonable. All the more so when you realise that each piece is actually larger than your typical dim sum offering.
Isn’t it interesting how positioning changes perspective?
That said, judged purely as Soon Kueh, the ones here do taste a little more premium. The thinner skin and better quality ingredients give each piece a more refined mouthfeel and flavour. Still, it’s inevitable that many will instinctively compare them to the more common versions found elsewhere, and when viewed through that lens, complaints about the price are bound to surface. 4/5
Beyond the Classic: New Flavours Worth Knowing
Apart from the classic jicama and dried shrimp filling, they also offer a few alternative flavours, including bak kwa and beetroot. The bak kwa version has an interesting backstory. During their Pandan Loop days, they were operating in the same building as Lim Chee Guan, which inspired them to incorporate bak kwa into the kueh. A nice bit of hawker serendipity.
Personally, I found the bak kwa flavour largely overshadowed by the beetroot, making it difficult to really taste the meat. The beetroot version on its own, however, is one I would recommend. It’s an intriguing, unconventional kueh that offers something quite different from the norm.
They also have chives and hae bee hiam in the works, both still being tweaked. Worth watching out for.
One good thing about their Soon Kueh is that you can actually buy them frozen and just steam at home when you feel like having some!
Conclusion
There really aren’t many stalls that can claim to be making artisanal Soon Kueh, and that’s what makes OKAT stand out. These are smaller, more refined, and clearly crafted with a level of care that sets them apart. Nick and Karen have moved stalls, weathered hiatuses, and kept coming back, and that commitment shows in every piece. Go in with the right expectations and you’ll find that this is Soon Kueh at a different level altogether.
