I am grateful to Mr Tien the admin of FB Page Labis Ecotourism for bringing us to this old kopitiam in a Labis backstreet 😄 Thank you for showing us the delicious old school hand made bao 手工包 at Hock Guan kopitiam at Jalan Tenang in Labis 😋
Hock Guan is a laid back kopitiam where Labis local folks gather.
Hock Guan kopitiam is run by Mr See, the friendly third generation owner with his wife and other family members. Hock Guan was founded by Mr See's Hainanese maternal grandfather 70 years ago.
Mr See still makes bao the way of his grandfather with a steaming tower and a time worn wood fired stove.
The bao are made entirely at the kopitiam by Mr See and family from the pillow soft bouncy skin to all the flavourful fillings. The skin is made with hand kneaded dough. The handmade skin have a slight yellowish hue instead of the bleached snowy white of factory made bao skin. The fillings are also all made with fresh locally sourced ingredients.
The bao come out of the steaming tower twice a day - between 9 to 10am, and between 1 to 2pm. As the bao are handmade, supply is limited. Come early to avoid disappointment 😄
Enjoy a cup of old school Nanyang kopi like a local while you wait for the bao 😄
Hock Guan's bao have thick skin which is soft, airy light and fluffy. Pressing on the bao is like poking a luxuriously soft powder puff 😄
The pork filling in the pork bun was tender and wet with juice. The mostly lean pork is chopped instead of minced, so there is a subtle bite in the filling. The filling had just the right intensity of well balanced savoury and sweet flavours.
The char siew bao was moist inside with tender char siew bits and sweet savoury juice.
Sweet savoury bang kuang (turnip) filling in the vegetable bao.
Like all the fillings in Hock Guan's bao, the red bean paste is also made in house. The smooth paste is made with red beans and fried with a little shallot oil. Hock Guan's red bean paste is sweet but not sugary (unlike factory made paste).
The crushed groundnut filling is also made in house.
👉 4-Star (out of 5). I enjoyed the bao at Hock Guan. The skin is airy light, fluffy and have a slight sweetness. All the different fillings have well balanced flavours at the right intensity which I like. If you are in or around Labis town, do drop by Hock Guan for their handmade bao.
If you are planning a trip to Labis, a stop for Hock Guan's handmade bao is a Must.
Restaurant name: Hock Guan 福源茶餐
Address: 24 Jalan Tenang, 85300 Labis, Johor, Malaysia (near the junction with Jalan Ibrahim)
GPS: 2°23'01.9"N 103°01'16.5"E | 2.383872, 103.021250
Tel: 011-1085 3756 | 07-9252 2462
Hours: 8:00am to 6:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 13 May 2017
We enjoyed eating the freshly hand-made bao! (Pn Chong)
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