Handmade Tradition

Third-generation owner of Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah and Kueh Pie Tee, Michael Ker, is determined to preserve the dying craft of making popiah skin by hand

- Michelle Yee

One of the first things that catches the eye upon entering Kway Guan Huat located along Joo Chiat Place is the sight of a worker making popiah skin by hand. Standing behind four cast iron pans, the man skillfully twirls dollops of elastic dough around one hand, then places them effortlessly on the pans that have been heated to about 180 degrees Celsius. He is unfazed by the heat and is quick to lift his hand off, leaving a thin layer of dough on the pan. After about 10 seconds, he removes the perfectly cooked skin and stacks it up neatly in front of him, and repeats the process all over again.

Made individually, the popiah skins are almost identical—in terms of dimension and thinness—which can only be achieved by someone with years of experience.

“An apprentice normally takes about one year to pick up the skill, and thereafter, many years of practice to master the craft,” shares Mr Michael Ker, the third-generation owner of Kway Guan Huat.

Kway Guan Huat was started in 1978 by Ker’s grandfather, who was a popiah skin maker from Anxi County in Fujian, China. He passed on the skill to Ker’s father and uncles, who have been running the business together for the past 80 years at the present location. Ker’s grandmother, who was a Peranakan from Malacca, came up with the popiah filling recipe, which she handed down to her daughters.

Ker, a trained pharmacist, started helping out in the shop when he was about 12 years old. He took over the business in 2013 after spending over a decade working in the corporate world as he did not want heritage foods like popiah to become a lost tradition.