At Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff on East Coast Road, a 30-seater that’s “Singapore’s first curry puff cafe”, Tay Mui Lan (left in pic), is undoubtedly the lady boss. Sporting a neat pixie cut and business-like demeanour, the 40-year-old efficiently toggles between taking orders at the counter, packing curry puffs and brewing coffee. However, amid the raucous banter of diners, she struggles to take a customer’s order. Leaning forward, she positions her right ear towards the lady, listening intently before apologetically asking her to repeat her request.

Mui Lan, third-generation owner of the biz, is deaf in one ear — a side effect from the brain surgery she underwent last February. Soon Soon Huat had its beginnings as 1A Crispy Curry Puff in Eunos in the ’90s when Mui Lan’s late granny first set up shop. Mui Lan and her mother were later forced to rebrand their famous 1A name when an ex-employee took it to open rival shops, including one in Takashimaya. Alas, they didn’t trademark the 1A brand (more on that later).

But after Mui Lan had settled comfortably in their new digs under the Soon Soon Huat moniker at East Coast over the past six years, she was hit with devastating news: she had a tumour in her brain that required emergency surgery.

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Ironically, Mui Lan didn’t plan to take over her family’s curry puff business. She was comfortable in her former job as a secretary in a local SME — until her mother, Ow Siew Kheng, 62, the matriarch behind Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff (formerly known as 1A Crispy Curry Puff), expressed her desire to retire. But when Mui Lan finally took over the reins, she fell into her new role with a fierce passion.

As a teen in the 1990s, Mui Lan spent some of her weekends learning how to make curry puffs at her late grandmother’s hawker stall at Eunos Crescent. “We were known as ‘1A Crispy Curry Puff’ then,” the hawker tells 8days.sg. “We’ve since moved from Eunos to Henderson, then to Kim Tian. In 2015, we rebranded to ‘Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff’ and relocated to East Coast Road.” The cafe in the east also sells meals like Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam. But the star is the curry puff.

Mui Lan’s decision to rebrand the shop was a move to protect her grandmother’s reputation and curry puffs. In the early 2000s, a former employee, who used to work with Mui Lan’s grandmother, ventured out to create a curry puff franchise of his own under the almost identical moniker, “1A Crispy Puffs”.

“At that time, we didn’t know we needed to trademark or patent our brand. We just wanted to make good curry puffs,” Mui Lan says wistfully. “We are not the same. Our customers can taste the difference.”

Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff boasts close to three decades of history since its founding in 1992. The signature curry puffs are known for their flaky and crumbly exterior as well as a unique spiral pattern. According to Mui Lan, the swirls, which create a multi-layered texture, were inspired by the snails her late grandmother saw at her kampong when she was younger.

Today, Mui Lan is adamant about using her late grandmother’s original recipe for her curry chicken, otah and sardine puffs — hence everything is handmade from scratch daily.

Before Mui Lan took over the reins from her mother Ow Siew Kheng (pictured) at Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff, she worked full-time as a secretary for a local engineering company. “Life was much easier back when I was working a nine to six job,” she shares.

It wasn’t until her mum told her that she wanted to close shop due to manpower shortages that Mui Lan had an epiphany. I felt that giving up [the biz] was a waste. Deep down, I wanted to keep the business alive. I wanted to sell traditional food and share my grandmother’s passion [for curry puffs] with others.” In 2009, Mui Lan took the leap of faith, quit her corporate job, and became a hawker.

In the decade that followed, Mui Lan lived the hawker life happily. She hustled between the front counter and kitchen where she — and her mother who still helps out at the cafe — along with some staff, shape and fry the puffs. “We put in a lot of heart and hard work into this business,” she says confidently.

In late 2019, Mui Lan experienced frequent dizzy spells. A referral to an Ear, Nose and Throat physician eventually led her to undergo an MRI scan. Mui Lan’s doctor delivered grave news: she had 50 percent hearing loss in her left ear and a 4cm tumour in her brain.

“It’s a benign nerve tumour known as acoustic neuroma,” Mui Lan explains, tearing up a little. Though not malignant, the slow-growing tumour may cause complications, such as hearing loss and facial numbness. Larger tumours may prevent the flow of fluid between the brain and the spinal cord, causing a build-up of fluid. In Mui Lan’s case, the doctor revealed there was indeed some fluid accumulated in parts of her brain which may cause her to fall into a coma if she falls.

“When I first heard the diagnosis, I was sad. It was a matter of life and death. I didn’t really have time to think things through; the surgery was scheduled a few days after my diagnosis. All I could think of were my family, my mother, my daughter, and my late-grandmother’s legacy.”

2020 marked Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff’s fifth anniversary at East Coast Road. But any plans to commemorate the occasion were cut short. Last February, Mui Lan underwent a nine-hour long brain surgery that saw her removing only 2cm of the tumour — the remainder was too closely attached to the nerves and required a separate procedure via non-invasive radio-surgery to remove.

Fortunately for Mui Lan, the surgery and subsequent procedure were a success. Despite being advised to take six weeks off work to recuperate, Mui Lan was eager to be back at Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff’s kitchen.

“I had a lot of reassurances from my family and my mother who helped me through this [difficult] period. I tried to reconnect occasionally through video calls and when I was feeling okay, I would make short trips down to the shop.”

Prior to her surgery, Mui Lan would rise at 4.45am and reach her cafe at 5.30am. After her operation, she allocates more time to rest, arriving for work just before 7am. Throughout the day, she shuffles in and out of the kitchen to knead dough and fry the curry puffs to ensure a steady flow of snacks for her customers.

Even so, life is no longer the same for Mui Lan. At work, she gets lethargic and thirsty easily. Some of her facial muscles had also weakened post-op, and this caused her left profile to droop slightly. For Mui Lan, it pains her to not be able to smile like before.

Mui Lan, who is now fully deaf in her left ear and unable to enunciate certain syllables, finds communicating with customers more difficult. “When you are [partially] deaf, you tend to speak louder. A customer said I was rude when I tried asking her to repeat her order with my voice unconsciously raised,” she says.

“If there’s anything that I have learned, it’s that life’s uncertain. You’ve got to be grateful and nice to people.”

For now, her 19-year-old daughter has no intention of taking over the business. As for Mui Lan, she plans to keep on serving great hand-made curry puffs for as long as she can.

At Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff, the classic Curry Chicken Puff is both the largest of the lot and a crowd favourite. Generously crammed with curry chicken chunks, diced potato and a small wedge of hard-boiled egg, each bite yields a satisfying crunch on the outside, and a satisfyingly moist and tender mouthful on the inside. The curry is mildly spiced yet tasty, while the famous spiral pastry is thinly-layered and crispy.

For those seeking a fiery kick to their shortcrust pastry, Mui Lan recommends the Sardine Puffs. Studded with plenty of sliced chilli padi and white onion, the sardine filling is both creamy, savoury and plenty spicy. Very addictive.

A dessert option for those who can’t take spicy stuff. The house-made custard is sweet and light, contrasting nicely with the crispy pastry. Quite pleasant. There’s also a D24 durian with coconut milk version that wasn’t available during our visit (only available weekends).

Soon Soon Huat Curry Puff is at 220 East Coast Rd, S428917. Open daily except Mon 7.30am to 5.30pm. https://www.facebook.com/SSHCurryPuff.

Photos: Alvin Teo

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