Hup Toh Soh @ Ching Han Guan

To shoot photos for this post was very difficult. My father kept eating my subjects -_________-during the shoot.

Finally after a lot of searching, there is a shop in Ipoh that sells my favorite Chinese biscuits and turns out, it's my friend's shop! Do you all sense an ADV? Nah, don't think my friend knows i am writing this but i thought it is good to let others know that... if you crave for traditional Chinese biscuits, you can find them! Unfortunately, it is in Ipoh :P. I am sure Chinatown has it, but it gives me a good reason to always head back to my hometown.

I headed back to Ipoh to visit my grandma recently. At the same time, i thought it was a good time to head over to my friend's shop whom i have not visited at all before. His shop, which he runs with his family. If i google the shop, seems that it is been around since 1949! By the way, their shop also feels as if it is from a different era, and naturally so, it's situated in the pre-war shops along the main street in Ipoh. While their are famous for the meat floss biscuit, i was actually more interested in their Hap Tou Sou and Chicken Biscuits!

Hap Tou Soh is translated loosely to Walnut biscuits. But.... looking at the recipe, i hardly see any walnuts in it. In fact, traditionally, this biscuit is made of LARD! However, i don't think Ching Han Guan makes it with lard, i suspect a lot of people use shortening these days to replace lard. I like this biscuit because it reminds me a lot of my childhood in Ipoh. Every New Year, my grand aunty will bring 2 big tins of this for us! Back then, you can eat as many as you want. Now ... watch your Cholestrol!

So when i saw this @ CHG, i needed to buy some to sample. Since my Aunt stopped making them 10 years ago, we went through a drought of Hap Tou Sou -_-. Though my mom has the recipe, she admits that there are some missing portion she cannot figure out to make the recipe. Sometimes when that happens, she tells me "go and buy lah!". Actually, it takes skill to make this biscuit. Other than my grand aunt, i think this is the only other place that makes good Hup Toh Soh according to the standards i like!

Ching Han Guan also has this nice thin Chicken biscuits. The direct chinese translation is Kai Chai Peng ( Chicken Little Biscuits!)  I like the thin variety and used to get my fix from Bidor when we had to travel the old roads. Ching Han Guan's one is much healthier than my Bidor version, thin and light and happens to be my grandma's favorite as well. It sells for 6.90 a pack if i am not mistaken. Oh look, a subject has disappeared from the plate!

Anyway, those interested, the address is pretty clear on the pack and they have a webpage as well.

Short post for the weekend! :)