• #SchoolForLife
  • Food
  • Family
  • Beauty & Health
  • Style
  • Great Women
  • Videos
  • Events/Win
  • #SchoolForLife
  • Hair Awards
  • Great Escape
  • Explore Singapore
  • Food
    • Food
    • Asian Recipes
    • Celebrity Recipes
    • Cooking Tips
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Eating Out
    • Festive Food
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Recipes
    • Western Recipes
  • Videos
  • Family
    • Family
    • Parenting
    • Sex & Marriage
    • Travel
  • Home Ideas
    • Home Ideas
    • Decor Tips
    • Organising
    • Appliances
    • Domestic Diva Awards
    • Entertaining
  • Beauty & Health
    • Beauty & Health
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Awards
    • Diet & Nutrition
    • Fitness
    • Wellness
  • Fashion
  • Career
  • Money
  • Real Life
  • Great Women
  • Entertainment
  • EVENTS/WIN
  • Also available at:
Privacy Menu
SPH Media

Copyright © 2022 SPH Media Limited. Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. All rights reserved.

  • #SchoolForLife
  • Food
  • Family
  • Beauty & Health
  • Style
  • Great Women
  • Videos
  • Events/Win

Career

This Lasalle Graduate Juggles A Traditional Kueh Business & Her Marketing Job

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Great Women

This Lasalle Graduate Juggles A Traditional Kueh Business & Her Marketing Job

The Lasalle graduate helms a home-based business, which was birthed during the circuit breaker period last year

October 15, 2021

Shiny Phua

Most 23-year-olds are slowly easing their way into the working world. But not Shiny Phua.

The Lasalle graduate helms a home-based business, which was birthed during the circuit breaker period last year. However, instead of selling the usual suspects like brownies and basque burnt cheesecakes, she specialises in traditional Teochew ang gu kueh (red tortoise cake) and muah chee (glutinous rice balls).

And that’s not all — she juggles this side hustle alongside her full-time job, where she does sales and marketing for an engineering company.

READ NEXT

Dignity Kitchen With Differently-Abled Staff Appeals For Help Online

12 Easy & Delicious Sandwiches For A Healthy WFH Lunch

This New Cat Cafe In The East Has Adorable Snacks & A Cute Owner Too

https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/gallery/great-women/this-lasalle-graduate-juggles-traditional-kueh-business-full-time-job/
This Lasalle Graduate Juggles A Traditional Kueh Business & Her Marketing Job
One girl, many roles
custom

Aptly named Ah Mah’s Legacy after her late grandmother, the business is a one-woman show.

Everything is managed by Shiny alone — from manually making each individual kueh to all the nitty-gritty logistics on the backend.

“It’s quite hard!” Shiny admits to AsiaOne when we asked if it’s tough wearing so many hats.

To make this arrangement work, she told us that time management is important as she has to schedule orders such that they don’t clash with her full-time job.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AhMah's Legacy (@ahmahslegacy)

This means that the only available time for her to churn out orders is during the weekends
custom

During the days leading up to the delivery date on Sundays, she also has to procure materials and prepare her ingredients, which can be time-consuming too.

Only about 200 pieces of kueh are pushed out for each weekly batch of orders, so interested parties have to be quick.

While Shiny’s customers have encouraged her to scale up her business, she refuses to do so as she wants to stay true to her roots and craft every single piece of kueh by hand.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AhMah's Legacy (@ahmahslegacy)

The process isn't just tedious, it can also be costly
custom

Shiny insists on using natural ingredients with no food colouring or artificial flavourings.

For her peanut gu kueh ($10 for a box of four), she uses sweet potatoes to achieve its bright orange hue. And her limited edition pistachio tahini gu kueh ($14 for a box of four) is chock full of roasted pistachios and toasted white sesame tahini.

So its no surprise that her kuehs are on the pricier end of the spectrum because the skins are made from fresh sweet potato and glutinous rice flour instead of cheaper sweet potato flour.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AhMah's Legacy (@ahmahslegacy)

Covid-19 hasn't helped with the situation either, as the prices for her ingredients have inflated
custom

“Sweet potato prices have increased about 28 to 33 per cent and for glutinous rice flour, nuts et cetera, there is at least a five to 10 per cent price increase,” she shares.

And that’s not all Shiny has to fret about. Manual labour aside, she also has to think about her customers’ satisfaction too.

“The challenge was to manage people’s expectations, especially because my [business] has only me,” Shiny explains.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AhMah's Legacy (@ahmahslegacy)

Remembering her grandma
image

Shiny first started making Teochew kueh when she was just 10 years old. Her late grandmother was the one who imparted these skills to her, she tells us.

For a while, before the circuit breaker hit last year, she even held kueh-making workshops.

When the pandemic put that to a halt, she decided to start selling her kueh instead and the rest is history.

Making traditional Teochew kueh isn’t just a means of making some extra income — it also helps Shiny remember and stay connected with her beloved grandmother.

While Ah Mah’s Legacy is currently entirely online-based, Shiny hopes to be able to eventually turn it into a brick and mortar store and hold workshops to share her grandma’s expertise.

“[My grandma] stayed with me my whole life, thus making kueh makes me remember her and her teachings, as well as the time spent together with her.”

Text: Melissa Teo/AsiaOne

Read Next

15 Artisanal Pizza Places To Get The Best Slices From Now

Where To Eat & Drink: Malay and Indonesian Buffet Delights At Ginger, An Israeli Feast & More

11 Best Places In Singapore For Affordable High Tea Below $30 Per Person

Shiny Phua
  • TAGS:
  • home bakery
  • support local
  • traditional
SHARE THIS ON

What’s Hot

Great Women

"Freezing My Eggs Was The Best Decision ...

Great Women

How Yvon Bock's Business Supports Breast...

Great Women

This Tech Leader Says Humanities Bring V...

Great Women

 Meet The Great Women Of Our Time 2022

Great Women

9 Female-Owned Singaporean Businesses To...

Great Women

An Author And Entrepreneur, Vivian Goh H...

Great Women

She Bravely Quit Her Job In The Midst Of...

Great Women

Here's What You Need To Know About Ectop...

Don’t Miss These
  • Awards Get A Year-Round Beauty Glow & Sun Protection With This S...
  • Awards Increase Your Hair Growth And Decrease Hair Loss With Thi...
Editor’s Picks
  • Fashion A Day In The Life Of HK Actress Grace Chan, Her Wardrobe Must-Haves, Mom Guil...
  • Real Life Head To This Hidden Corner At Keppel Bay Before It Closes Down
  • Parenting Modern Mums: "I Practice Respectful Parenting But I Set Firm Boundaries"
  • Entertainment Fiona Xie Is Still A Romantic, But She Is Spreading Her Wings Like Never Before
  • Great Women "Freezing My Eggs Was The Best Decision I've Made"
  • Food 6 Places Where You Can Donate Your Extra CNY Goodies
Don't Miss Out Ever Again!
Tips & tricks to stay sane + win invites to our events!

By signing up, you indicate that you have read and agreed with our Privacy Statement
Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Conditions of Access
  • PDPA
  • Privacy Policy
?>
SPH Magazine

Copyright © 2022 SPH Media Limited. Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. All rights reserved.