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.