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Teo Ah Bee, 74, closed his popular min jiang kueh stall located at a coffee shop in Buangkok, despite his pancakes being very popular during its three-year run.

Customers thought he has had enough of the pancake-making life.

However, that was not the end of it.

Teo is back as he is now selling his pancakes from home in Buangkok.

What happened

According to Shin Min Daily News, the coffee shop at Block 962 Buangkok Crescent that Teo previously operated out of underwent a renovation and the tray return station was shifted close to his stall, reduced his space, and affected his business.

He decided to close down the stall, Kueh Pulau Pinang.

The last day was on Aug. 31.

The news of the closure saw droves of his fans head over to buy his min jiang kueh, which are known to be fragrant and fluffy.

He told Shin Min: "In the past three years, we have gained many regular customers. On the last day of business, there were some 200 people queuing up, each ordering 10 pieces of min jiang kueh each. We were too busy, and some customers ended up empty-handed."

He had only started selling min jiang kueh in the Buangkok coffee shop in 2020 after working there as a cleaner for over a year.

How he started selling min jiang kueh

Teo has always known how to sell min jiang kueh, having helped his father in the trade since he was eight.

He even started selling the pancakes on his own when he was 13 years old, Shin Min reported.

To get back into the business, Teo told Mothership previously that he had to pawn a piece of jewellery to raise the capital to start his stall.

Customers can order 1 day in advance

After closing down, many regular customers got in touch with Teo to find out if he is still selling his min jiang kueh, Shin Min reported.

The idea of operating out of his HDB flat was mooted, which 8 Days claimed credit for, and he decided to have a go at it after some careful consideration.

Currently, Teo has reopened his business and is making and selling min jiang keuh out of his two-bedroom unit in Buangkok Crescent, which he shares with his 71-year-old wife.

Teo said he has tried to bid for a new stall in other areas, but others have outbid him.

To place an order, customers can call him at 8947 5069 at least one day in advance with no minimum order.

He does not do deliveries, but customers can arrange for their own courier to pick the pancakes up from him.

As both he and his wife are getting on in their years, Teo only makes min jiang kueh from Fridays to Sundays, and asks customers to pick up their orders by 1pm on these days.

60-year-old recipe

After all these years of making min jiang kueh, Teo has improved on his father's 60-year-old traditional recipe.

It takes him just 10 minutes to whip up a bucket of batter.

The hand-made peanut and gula melaka coconut filling takes two hours to stir fry and caramelise respectively, and is suitable for vegetarians.

When he still had a stall to man, Teo used to spend his off-day frying peanuts for the filling.

Besides peanut and coconut, these days he has expanded the range of fillings, offering creamed corn, cheese, egg and picnic ham.

The pancakes are made on the seasoned metal griddle which used to belong to his father, Shin Min reported.

He said in a previous Mothership interview: "I'll continue selling min jiang kueh for a few more years for people to eat it and perhaps in the future, they will remember me."

He added: "I'm old already, aiyah, there's no need to sell it expensive."

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News