"I grew up in a village, and every year before Chinese New Year, my mother, neighbors and friends would come together and prepare all the ingredients and tools needed for making pastries. Then, I'd realize that Chinese New Year was around the corner," founder and managing director of Lao Zi Hao, Justiny Tang, reminisces with a smile.
Justiny Tang is the founder of Lao Zi Hao (Credit: Sean Seah)
Five years ago, Tang, now 52, saw a business opportunity in the traditional pastry production industry and invested $60,000 to found his own company Lao Zi Hao, mass producing pastries for other brands. However, his heart remained fixated on recreating the pastries of his youth, those that captured his memory with their handmade goodness.
"Handmade pastries require a lot of manpower to bake," shares Tang. "The hours are long and the costs are high - about two or three times more than machine-made pastries - however, I still strive to preserve the traditional way of making pastries, because if I don't, this art will be lost in another decade or two, and no one will remember what it tasted like."
"Handmade pastries require a lot of manpower to bake," shares Tang. "The hours are long and the costs are high - about two or three times more than machine-made pastries - however, I still strive to preserve the traditional way of making pastries, because if I don't, this art will be lost in another decade or two, and no one will remember what it tasted like."
Chef Lu Peng Ju prepares the pastries (Credit: Sean Seah)
To fulfil his dreams of producing handmade traditional pastries, Tang got in touch with master chef Lu Peng Ju through a recommendation from a friend. Chef Lu hails from Guangzhou and started making pastries when he was 16. Five years ago, he came to Singapore to join Tang's team at Lao Zi Hao where he began developing traditional pastries that evoked the ones from his employer's childhood and yet were less sweet to appeal to health-conscious locals.
Other than using time-honoured recipes and good ingredients, the secret behind a delicious traditional pastry is the skill of its maker. "The three techniques crucial to handmade pastries are precise handiwork, strength control and speed," says chef Lu.
Other than using time-honoured recipes and good ingredients, the secret behind a delicious traditional pastry is the skill of its maker. "The three techniques crucial to handmade pastries are precise handiwork, strength control and speed," says chef Lu.
Tang and Lu frequent the market to hand pick the best pineapples for their pineapple tarts
Pineapple tarts are notoriously laborious to make. From selecting pineapples to preparing them by removing the skin, shredding the fruit and cooking it down, stirring continuously for 40 minutes, chef Lu oversees every step of producing each 20kg batch of pineapple jam.
And every year as the Chinese New Year season rolls around, production increases exponentially. A six-man kitchen team in Lao Zi Hao produces about ten thousand pineapple tarts a day, totalling between a hundred to a hundred and fifty thousand during the whole festive period.
And every year as the Chinese New Year season rolls around, production increases exponentially. A six-man kitchen team in Lao Zi Hao produces about ten thousand pineapple tarts a day, totalling between a hundred to a hundred and fifty thousand during the whole festive period.
Lao Zi Hao's handmade pineapple tarts
Tang says: "Whenever we approach the Lunar New Year, we have to get in more manpower, about 20 workers working round the clock, in order to meet the demand. The thing about making our pastries purely by hand is getting the consistency right such that every piece is the same size and quality. It really tests the mettle of the chefs."
Chefs work round the clock to meet the surge in demand during the festive season
Both Tang and Lu share an unceasing passion for preserving the traditional handmade way of producing these festive pastries, despite rising costs and a low profit margin. "We can spend 10-15 hours on our feet just slaving over love letters in the kitchen. Every handmade pastry is made with a lot of heart and sheer hard work, and we hope that our customers will be able to taste our sincerity in every bite."
Handmade | 手心的温度
Lao Zi Hao
1010 Aljunied Avenue 4
#01-14 Singapore 389911
Tel：6743 4493 or email: laozihao@rocketmail.com
This article was written by Chen Ngee Ann and translated by Rachel Tan. Click here to read the original story.
