A Singapore-based social enterprise is preserving traditional Teochew kueh-making while providing employment and skills training to female former drug offenders. Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh, founded in February 2020, is the result of a family’s commitment to both cultural heritage and social impact.
The business was inspired by the experience of mother and daughter Lim Lee Hoi, 75, and Qara Yoon, 47. Following the death of Lim’s husband in 2007, Lim, who had been a full-time homemaker, turned to making Teochew kueh as a way to cope with her bereavement. Having learned the craft from her mother and grandmother, both natives of Puning in Guangdong province, Lim revived a family tradition that later evolved into a source of income for herself and Yoon.
Yoon began learning the kueh-making process in 2010 and subsequently started a Facebook page in 2016 to promote awareness of Teochew culinary traditions. The growing interest led to a home-based business, with Lim preparing the kueh and Yoon managing ingredient preparation, packing, and deliveries. A 2018 workshop for a Teochew clan further revealed demand for kueh-making classes.
Qara Yoon’s friend and current co-founder of the social enterprise, Talia Lee, 55, recognized the potential to blend this cultural heritage with a social mission. The enterprise focuses on training and employing women who are former drug offenders, offering them practical skills and income opportunities. Since its launch, the enterprise has assisted more than 20 women, currently employing two full-time and one part-time former drug offenders.
The social enterprise initially operated out of a 2,000 square foot space at Kampong Ampat, converted from a former staff canteen into a café and workshop studio known as Cultural Concepts Studio. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a pivot to online sales as workshops were suspended. In August 2021, the business relocated to a 200 square foot cloud kitchen in Changi Business Park to focus on packaging kueh for delivery orders.
Lim’s expertise is rooted in decades of experience dating back to childhood, having endured physically demanding tasks such as grinding rice using a manual stone mill and handling hot dough. Yoon, fluent in the Teochew dialect from her grandparents, recognized that younger generations were increasingly disconnected from traditional foods, fueling her commitment to share and sustain this aspect of Teochew culture.
Yoon’s Traditional Teochew Kueh operates a stall at Yuhua Market & Hawker Centre in Jurong East, open from early morning until mid-afternoon, except Mondays. The enterprise invites advance orders via telephone, continuing to bridge heritage food-making with social empowerment in the community.