Lessons from Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh

I attended an Ang Ku Kueh (AKK) lesson on 17/4/2022. I joined the lesson purely for fun and was curious about how to make AKK.

Apart from learning how to make AKK, Ji Xiang's boss also shared with my class how his family started this business and how they maintain and tried to expand his business.

I am very impressed by their business. The food business in Singapore is extremely competitive and cutthroat. Let alone able to survive for more than a generation. I have to say; that just surviving more than 10 years is already an achievement.

Apart from making AKK, these are the business lessons I learn from Ji Xiang AKK.

Starting out

Ji Xiang's boss shared with my class what and how his parents, the founders and first-generation boss of Ji Xiang, did in the beginning.

His father felt they had too much free time while at home and decided should make some AKK sell. His father will delegate the tasks among the family members. In short, no one was allowed to slack.

They made and managed to sell their AKK pretty well. So well that they tried to increase their production to the point they used their HDB flat’s corridor space for the ingredients. I can see that Ji Xiang's boss enjoys telling his family story. It must have brought fond memories.

Until the NEA officer came and told them they can’t do this.

The family saw their business was good, and despite the NEA officer telling them to stop, they find other means to do their business. They borrowed money from their relatives and set up a shop to sell their AKK.

Different Generation, Different Mentality

Ji Xiang's boss told us that his parents woke up at 2 am to come to the shop and start cooking. For certain fillings, they do not wish their employees to know the recipe. So they came much earlier to cook and get the fillings done. Once the employees reached and they can work on other processes.

To his parents, they believed the success of their business was based on the recipes. As such, they guarded the recipes closely. They worried that if employees would know the recipes, they can set up a rival shop and be a direct competitor against them.

Now, Ji Xiang's boss told us, they all come to work at 6 am. Nor do they care if anyone knows the recipes. In fact, the recipes were forced to change as the government told them to reduce the sugar content, an effort against the diabetics. Ji Xiang's boss is aware that his generation and the younger generation probably don’t want to set up a shop like his and sell AKK, or maybe any other kuehs. Long working hours and no air conditioner is already a huge hurdle for most people.

Making their work easier

Ji Xiang Boss showed us the production area, where the kuehs are made.

Ji Xiang AKK sold a lot of different flavors, which means they have to make different filings. Thus, they have to accommodate different cooking processes. For example, peanut fillings require peanuts to be ground finely while sambal fillings required some stir-frying.

Some ingredients can be ordered according to the specification they want, helping them reduce their workload. For example, they can order finely ground peanuts, instead of buying whole peanuts and ground them in the kitchen.

But some fillings have to cook on site. Coconut and sambal fillings need to make fresh daily as they spoil easily. Not only that, they have to make the dough, mold the kueh and steam them.

Ji Xiang's boss proudly presented to us the machinery they have. 

“The steamers we have now used much less gas compared to the traditional steamers we used at first.” He said proudly.

He then touched the lower part of the steamer to show us how safe and cool it is.

“These steamers only direct the steam and heat to the steamer basket above, making it energy efficient. While the traditional steamers will radiate heat around it, making the people working in this area perspire a lot and have to drink a lot of water.”

I am sure he worked in this area before and experienced the discomfort for a long period. I am sure he felt these steamers are worth every single penny.

He shared some other machinery too. A freezer that can go -40ᵒC, a wok that looks like a cement mixer, and the machinery that leaves the biggest impression on me is a banana leave cutter. Ji Xiang's boss shared that his father used to make a banana leafcutter that used a car jack. Now the banana leaf cutter uses a hydraulic instead.

The family squeezes their brain juice to find ways to increase efficiency.

Yet, not all problems can be solved by machines

Ji Xiang's boss did admit he did think of designing a machine or production line to make the AKK itself. After letting a heavy sigh, he explained, “Technically speaking, I believe it is achievable. But the R&D and the testing involved with this machine, I don’t think it is feasible.”

After I tried making the AKK, I understood the difficulties of making a presentable AKK. I have to take the oily pink dough, put it in the filling, shaped it in the appropriate shape, put it into the mold, shake the kueh out delicately, and put it into the steamer basket carefully.

The oily pink dough, unlike pasta dough, is very delicate, soft, and pliable. There is an advantage to this. If the kueh isn’t shaped satisfactorily, you can take it out and start all over again. But because the dough is so pliable and any small accidental touch on the kueh will easily deform it. Thus, wasting time and effort.

I am sure Ji Xiang’s boss and his family have thought of an idea to solve this problem. I am also sure they did consult some professional help. They probably found the drawback or the cost not feasible for them.

Production isn’t the only thing they have in mind. At first, Ji Xiang’s boss thought his parents were paranoid when they want to change the kueh mold. The old molds are wooden and the kueh will have a Chinese word imprinted on it. I can’t recall what word it is.

They changed the mold into a pink plastic with a 寿 instead. 寿 means longevity.

Turns out his parents' actions were justified. Ji Xiang’s boss found out that a nearby kueh seller lied to her customers that the AKKs she selling were from Ji Xiang.

Business is still good

Yet their business sales are still good. Of course, there are days they are unable to sell all their kuehs, what they did is that they gifted the rest to nearby shops. It is their policy to only sell their kuehs on the day it is made.

The shop is located at Bugis, and there is a lot of foot traffic. And the place where the lessons were conducted is open for everyone to see. While I was making the kuehs, I noticed there were a lot of curious passers-by who took a look at the shop, were interested in what is going on, interested in the different flavors available, etc.

Culture, once forgotten, is there a way to get it back?

Ji Xiang’s boss is planning to open his third shop somewhere. I am sure he was considering expanding his business not just to prosper. But also to ensure the meaning of AKK and certain Chinese cultures are not lost.

There is one special AKK, called Ka Ta Kueh. Ji Xiang’s Boss explained to us that these types of kuehs are made to celebrate a baby’s first birthday. These kuehs were used for Chinese gods’ offerings and later on, the baby will wear new shoes and step on the kuehs.

“Stepped on it, then cannot eat already ar?” I asked cheekily.

“Stepped already still can eat” Ji Xiang’s boss answered with a straight face. I think he means it.

I never heard of this culture until Ji Xiang’s boss told us. I wondered whether other countries like China and Taiwan still have this culture maintained. And also probes me to think, about what other cultures were forgotten over time, thanks to the result of government policies and technological advancement.

I guess he still put this on the menu to ensure this culture is still remembered in Singapore.

Reflections

I strongly believe that doing F&B business in Singapore is a Herculean task. To make it survive for many years deserved an award on its own.

Thanks to Ji Xiang’s boss sharing, his family overcome these challenges, not only with the creative usage of machinery. They too recognized there are other elements about F&B that isn’t just food itself. Ambiance the shop provides, the purpose of maintaining the culture before it becomes forgotten, and most important of all, enjoying what they like to do.

Although I didn’t get to see his smile, (we were masked up, thanks to Covid's safety measures), I can still feel that he enjoy this simple AKK making.

I also find it interesting enough that when it comes to technology, it always manages to disrupt the traditional businesses, making them obsolete, and thus, tradition is lost and forgotten.

In Ji Xiang’s case, they use technology to maintain this tradition and culture instead.

 

What I learn from ’10 Golden Rules for Financial Success’ by Garry Moore

 A small spoiler alert, the book is sharing a lot of Christian quotes. If you are comfortable with that, you might want to give this a miss.

Although I am not a Christian at the time of writing, that shouldn’t stop me from learning anything useful for me. Especially when much of the financial wisdom was shared by Sir John Templeton.

I try to keep my blog post as religion-neutral as possible. Nowadays, netizens find fault in anything and everything and become very sensitive.

So, (taking a deep breath)… the first thing I learned from this book is…

Worries hurt

The author cites a lot of examples during the time he wrote the book. The book I bought was published in 1996. I was secondary 2 then, the pre-internet days when arcade and pagers were still around.

In general, in Author’s view, people worried and still worrying now I believe are:

1.       About the Government

a.       People tend to think that government policies will negatively affect them.

2.       About the current events

3.       About their jobs being replaced by foreigners that migrated to their country

4.       About their jobs being moved out of their country

a.       For example, it is cheaper to have the factor to open in other countries instead of the USA. Thus, the USA factory is closed and open in other countries.

5.       About their jobs being replaced by better machinery, creative destruction, or disruptive technologies.

As people are worried about the above mentioned, they tend to use their money ineffectively. They worried their money will lose value and thus invest in government bonds or gold. And these yield lesser or perform worse than companies’ shares.

Author and Sir John admitted that other factors influence them to make sure decisions. For example:

1.       Their religious teachings or belief systems.

2.       The way media (including social media now) portray the government, politicians, and current affairs.

3.       Their family and/or friends shared their ideas/opinions over coffee or dinner.

For example, one guy may have a negative opinion of the government and may have exaggerated the situation to his friends. Or the newspaper company put negative headlines to attract more sales for their newspaper (in a social media context, clickbait).

Thus people or investors may have a different or unrealistic view of the situation, government, or the economy in general, which leads them to invest ineffectively.

As Such, Sir John believed that being pessimistic isn’t a virtue when comes to investing. He suggested having a realistic view when it comes to investment instead.

Gratitude helps

It is natural to worry, but we tend to worry excessively. But being grateful for what we have helps against our ‘over worrying minds’.

Author and Sir John pointed out in the book that the USA economy was so much better than before. The USA was, and in my opinion, is improving. But a lot of people, are either not aware or misled by other sources. I admitted that I once believed otherwise when I saw S&P500 reach a new high; I don’t think it is sustainable and avoid USA companies. That was back in 2016.

However, as I learn more about investing and the economy. I am convinced otherwise.

I am sure if I present my case with a set of information and data points; I will be challenged and proven wrong by naysayers easily. Regardless of how I present the information.

However, that isn’t my point of this section, nor is what the author and Sir John are driving at. They pointed out that being grateful, and being positive helps in getting more opportunities and chances to be given to us.

Imagine hiring someone to help you with your chores, would you prefer to hire?

Someone cheerful, always happy to help, and showing great appreciation when you pay him?

Or someone who is always grumpy, always mumbling negative things around him and frowning when you pay him?

I do prefer to hire the cheerful chap and probably give him a tip if he goes for the extra mile. The other guy? I most likely will label him toxic.

But ‘Gratitude’ can be easily ‘buried away’ as we have more expectations or wanted even more good things. In short, taking the things I have for granted.

The author cited an example that a company has gained 20% more net profit compared to the last year’s net profit. However, the share price dropped because the analysts expected the company to perform 30% more net profit instead.

This may create a vicious cycle of ‘Never Enough’.

Thus, I am learning to be grateful for what I have now. I do know what I have may not last forever, and there are a lot of people willing to fight tooth and nail to be in my place. My position isn’t a very glamourous position, but I am still grateful for what I have. Although I still want more, that shouldn’t stop me from being grateful.

Money can do more than I think

Author and Sir John believed that there are things that are more important than just making money.

They do willing to lend or buy bonds to a cause that they believed in. For example, buying bonds that are meant to build a bridge for a certain town. Although the interest rate or coupons may not be a lot, the money can help the construction company and create convenience for the town folks.

Thus, creating a value that can’t exactly be bought by money, yet it was required money to achieve.

Helping business is another way of doing more. As the business grows, it can employ more employees. Resulting in creating more jobs, feeding more people, and helping the economy too. So when you invest in a company, you are helping the company to grow indirectly.

Although we focus on making more money, money sometimes can do more than just make more money for us. We can also help society in one way or another by investing in a cause we believe in.

I admit that the notion is very noble, but it is kind of out of my league at the time of writing. So I hope that I can reach a stage where my money is sufficient enough to help society in a certain the future.