SEREMBAN, Nov 25 — There is something about Seremban’s siew bao that feels deeply local yet quietly universal: the comfort of hot pastry, the richness of seasoned meat, the flake of a crust that gives and crumbles.

As we drove through the streets in the early morning, it’s as if the smell of baked dough began to drift through the air. It’s the promise of that fragrant moment when bun meets bite.

We came here at the insistence of our friend Rachel, a Seremban-born local now working in Singapore.

“You must try my family’s favourite,” she said, steering us determinedly along Jalan Seng Meng Lee in the old town until we detected the scent of pastry, which seemed to hover in the air long before the shop came into view.

The shop in question is Asia Catering & Confectionery, but more fondly called Siew Pow Master by locals.

For decades, this bakery has been a cornerstone of Seremban’s food identity — one of those ever increasingly rare family-run establishments.

Their ovens start before dawn, and by mid-morning, the place hums with life: trays clattering, staff calling out orders, customers stepping aside to make room for more boxes and more buns.

Inside the kitchen, the rhythm is deliberate and unhurried. Workers move with the kind of quiet precision that comes from years of repetition.

They pull massive trays from the ovens, the air shimmering with heat. Each tray holds dozens of pastries, their crusts golden and glistening slightly from the light glaze brushed on before baking.

The buns are transferred to cooling racks lined neatly by the window. Steam rises in gentle swirls; the smell of roasted meat and caramelised pastry is heady.

Everything here is baked fresh daily but of course, everyone comes for the siew bao — that flaky, buttery bun filled with sweet-savoury barbecued pork or chicken. Yet it would be a mistake to stop there.

Take the towering stacks of coconut tarts, for instance. These are tiny masterpieces in their own right: crisp, short pastry shells filled with toasted coconut that’s sticky, sweet and aromatic.

The curry puffs, meanwhile, speak the language of comfort. They are hand-sized crescents, each encasing a warm mixture of curried potato and bits of chicken seasoned with turmeric, cumin and a trace of pepper.

And then there are the sesame balls, small and unassuming, their golden crusts rolled in sesame seeds that crackle faintly under the bite.

Inside, the filling is either smooth red bean or coarser peanuts; both are soft, rich, and grounded in the kind of sweetness that comforts rather than cloys.

Bite into one or more of this tempting trio and you’ll understand why people tuck a few into takeaway boxes “for later” — though they rarely last the journey home.

Further down the counter, other delights wait their turn to be noticed. The egg tarts come in two forms: the classic Hong Kong–style with tender shortcrust and delicate custard, and the Portuguese-style where the tops are blistered from the higher heat, the custard deeper, almost smoky.

The kaya puffs are little folded pockets filled with coconut jam — glossy, fragrant, and impossibly lush when still warm.

Heong piah, those sticky, fragrant biscuits beloved in many Malaysian homes, carry their characteristic malted aroma; break one open and the filling stretches, dense and sweet.

There are tau sah piah, delicate discs with hearts of mung bean paste; chicken pies, small and golden; and chicken floss buns, soft as clouds, each topped with that umami-rich floss.

The standout, the signature, remains their siew bao. It is a thing of layers, literally and metaphorically — each pastry a small piece of history folded into butter and flour.

When we leave with a box of still warm pastries, the car fills with the faint perfume of butter and sugar. Rachel grins knowingly; she has seen this reaction before.

I take a bite, flakes scattering onto my lap, and I think of how some things endure not because they must, but because someone keeps them alive.

In a world that hurries, a good siew bao reminds us to pause — to taste, to remember, to be quietly grateful for simple, enduring craft.

Asia Catering & Confectionery (Siew Pow Master)

368, Jalan Seng Meng Lee,

Seremban.

Open Tue-Sun 8am-5:30pm, Mon closed

Phone: 06-763 2409

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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