IPOH, Nov 2 — Watching the heong peng (or heong peah) master skillfully igniting the flames by burning coconut husks in gigantic wells at the back of the house was mesmerizing, to say the least.

The process appears to be laborious, requiring much tenacity, effort and experience to be able to tell when the heat has risen to the right temperature followed swiftly by pasting each flattened piece of dough onto the inner walls of the well for the broiling process to commence.

This is then followed by careful timing under his watchful eyes or help from his “disciples” to ensure that the biscuits are not burnt or the dough under-cooked.

When the biscuits are ready, they turn a light shade of brown; sometimes with charred bits at the bottom. This indicates it is time to “harvest” the biscuits from the walls, with a scraper and a metal container, and then they are transferred to a large metal tray to cool off before the final packing stage.

Gunung Rapat in Ipoh is famous for a variety of things; the cave temples (Sam Poh Tong and Kek Look Tong) that have become tourist attractions but they are gradually losing their charm in these modern days, the assam laksa stall opposite of the wet market and the Yong Tau Foo specialist nearby where they stuff practically every vegetable imaginable.

However, the popularity of Gunung Rapat transcended international borders (to Singapore, at least) through the humble heong peng which are literally translated to fragrant biscuits.

A round, palm-sized biscuit baked or broiled until the flaky dough achieves the desired level of crunchiness, filled with a sweet and sticky filling composing of maltose, fried shallots and oil. The dough is first kneaded with sesame seeds as well for the extra fragrance.

Yee Hup is the pioneer in the Gunung Rapat heong peng business, traditionally producing and selling them from a humble wooden house nestled within the labyrinths of the old Gunung Rapat settlement in Ipoh. That could be a good two to three decades back.

Now, Yee Hup has expanded beyond a cottage industry, choosing to commercialise the trademark Gunung Rapat produce into an export commodity and has been performing brilliantly, I must admit.

However, with incredible commercial expansion, there will always be a price to pay.

To cope with the demand and shorten turnaround time, as well as quality control, most of the larger scale producers have switched to modern ovens to churn out hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of heong peng daily.

Every single piece of heong peah is still hand made at these home-based establishments in Gunung Rapat of Ipoh

Admittedly, this works perfectly as a business model, to reach out beyond local consumption and create a strong branding by starting confectioneries selling heong peng to busloads of visitors and holiday makers from neighbouring towns.

But to us locals, who grew up cherishing every single piece of heong peng packed in the pink plastic bag tied with a piece of rubber band, the experience is no longer the same.

The aroma the biscuits emit upon untying the bag, the first bite into the crumbling piece of marvel, the smacking of the lips upon tasting the sweet elixir within; these are priceless, unforgettable memories that are harder to conjure up when modern, shiny packaging is used and the biscuits individually wrapped and generic, almost-perfectly shaped sesame-studded rounds that crumble with a soft thud instead of a hearty crunch.

"Harvesting” the biscuits from the walls is not an entirely easy process; if one is not skilled, the biscuits will either fall into the pit or break into pieces from the scraping off process (left). The biscuits are actually "stuck” onto the inner walls of the large wells, then broiled with a fire generated by burning coconut husks (right)

Thankfully, within the neighbourhood of Gunung Rapat, some heong peng manufacturers still stay true to the traditional method of broiling the biscuits in huge wells heated by coconut husks.

I assure you that the difference between an electronic oven-baked piece and one broiled using the traditional method is jarring.

One of my personal favourite brands is Seng Kee, still selling from the compound of their home along Lorong Gunung Rapat 3; ironically the same road as the original Yee Hup. At Seng Kee, if you come at the right time, you can even witness how they produce their heong peng at the back of the house.

Seng Kee Heong Peah is a home-based business; you need to literally walk into their house compound and select your purchases from the array of locally-made and outstation-sourced biscuits

The catch is that you will need to navigate your way down the relatively narrow lanes and search for house number 177. There are several others within the vicinity though; almost walking distance from one another. Although they do display signboards in front of their gates, most outlets only have Chinese characters written on them.

Seng Kee acknowledges the need to sustain their business with a wider selection of confections, thus you can also purchase crumbly walnut biscuits (hup tou sou), Sungai Lembing coconut biscuits, Kampar’s shat keh mah, etc.

If you wish for an alternative, then consider the brand simply named 189 Heong Peah located on the next road (Lorong Gunung Rapat 5) as they produce their heong peng in the same manner as well.

On a side note, do you know that there is a traditional (can we call this antique?) way of eating heong peng involving puncturing a hole in the biscuit with a chopstick, pouring in a beaten egg, press the biscuit slightly and pan-fry with a little sesame oil?!

Seng Kee Food Trading 177, Lorong Gunung Rapat 3, Gunung Rapat, 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.

189 (Yat Pat Gao Enterprise) 189, Lorong Gunung Rapat 5, 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.