GEORGE TOWN — Thirteen years ago, Yeap Poh Looi, 48, began crafting a healthier version of traditional five-nut mooncakes for her father, who was unable to consume the usual shop-bought treats due to diabetes. Determined to create a safer alternative that could accommodate his dietary needs, she reduced the size of the mooncakes from the traditional 150 grams to bite-sized 50-gram portions and modified online recipes, resulting in a nut-packed delicacy with lower sugar content.
In recent years, Yeap has adjusted the recipe further by removing mixed nuts to make the mooncakes easier for her father to chew. She focuses primarily on red bean and lotus paste fillings, carefully reducing the sugar in both the fillings and syrup used in the dough without compromising taste or texture.
Yeap, who works at the Sungai Pinang state constituency service centre, dedicates three to four hours daily during the festive season to making mooncakes. On particularly busy nights, she can produce over 300 pieces. While she purchases ready-made fillings from baking supply stores, she customizes their sweetness and texture to fit her recipe. To simplify the preparation process and avoid issues like mold growth often associated with traditional wooden moulds, she uses 3D-printed hand-press moulds that she sources online.
Her expertise has led to invitations to demonstrate mooncake-making at community events, which include participants from both Chinese and non-Chinese backgrounds, as well as foreign visitors. Recently, she conducted a workshop at Armenian Park, teaching attendees how to prepare and mould the mooncakes. Yeap sees this activity as a way to share cultural heritage and pass on the tradition.
Beyond personal and cultural purposes, Yeap utilizes her mooncake-making skills to support charitable causes. She sells boxes containing four mooncakes each to friends and family, donating RM3 from every box sold to the SJK (C) Heng Ee building fund. In past years, she has also contributed proceeds to other schools and expresses a desire to continue using her talents for community benefit.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, is traditionally linked to harvest celebrations. Today, it is commonly celebrated with family gatherings, lantern displays, and the sharing of mooncakes — a practice Yeap helps preserve with her healthier, personalized recipes.