KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Pouches of meat and flavour. This is perhaps the best way to describe the handmade dumplings by Gyoza For Life. The freshly wrapped gyozas are bursting with flavour and every bit as good as those found in brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Gyoza For Life was founded by Adrian Choong, 30, who did not come about the F&B (food and beverage) field via the usual route. Rather than a culinary background, he majored in acting at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.
Choong was also based in Canada for five years as an actor prior to forming Gyoza For Life in 2021. He says, “I performed in various platforms: regional theatres in Halifax and New Brunswick, television (Let’s Get Physical in 2017) and film, acting alongside Sigourney Weaver in The Good House in 2018.”
Just when Choong’s acting career began building momentum, the Covid-19 pandemic happened and everything in the entertainment industry halted. He returned to Malaysia and was roped in to help his cousin who was selling homemade gyozas on a part-time basis.
Choong recalls, “My cousin would make the gyozas, and I would help market and deliver them. And to be honest, I found a lot of joy in doing that: I learned so much through these interactions, enjoyed listening to countless wonderful stories and most importantly, formed a community.”
Once the lockdown was lifted, Choong’s cousin returned to working full-time. He says, “I saw this opportunity to use the gyoza making skills that I learned from him and started Gyoza For Life.”
Coming up with the current line-up of flavours, which is separated into three broad categories (Classic, House Specials and Seasonal), was an organic process that came with trial and error.
“Our Original Flavour is a classic pork and chives gyoza,” Choong shares. “Which is mostly what people traditionally associate gyozas or dumplings with. My cousin and I originally (no pun intended) started only with this flavour, hence it’s the Classic.”
As the business grew, the actor side started nagging at the entrepreneurial half: How could he take something traditional and be creative with it?
Choong says, “I started listing down all the foods that I love, and then from that list, narrowing it down to what the majority of people in Malaysia love to eat.”
From this bout of ideation, Gyoza For Life next launched their Japanese Curry and Bak Kut Teh flavours. Choong says, “It’s never been done before, so definitely we were a little nervous, but we kept pushing through and really helped our audiences to think out of the box when it comes to gyozas or dumplings.”
The response from customers was highly encouraging. More importantly, Choong was now able to take the feedback he received to create new flavours, such as Sawadee Kra Pao or stir fried holy basil with minced pork, one of their House Specials.
He explains, “We wanted to add a spicy but not too spicy gyoza to our menu, and Malaysians love Thai food. I remembered being in Thailand and addicted to krapao. It was a perfect combo, and our customers love it.”
This Thai-inspired flavour remains Gyoza For Life’s bestselling product and has been featured on 8TV’s HoChak programme.
For recipe development, Choong consults with researchers in the F&B industry before rolling out several versions and sending out testers to their existing customers for further feedback.
He adds, “When our customers wanted something spicier, my aunt — who’s from Sichuan — and I collaborated in creating our Mala Gyozas. We decided that our málà could use more flavouring and less fire, to be accessible to more people.”
The result is a not too spicy gyoza that is more balanced, flavour-wise. The moist pork is paired with wood-ear fungus and spices imported directly from Sichuan province in China.
That desire to appeal to as many segments of the market and differing palates originates in Choong’s innate people-pleasing nature. Plus, it’s sound business practice during the building phase when one is trying to identify and carve out a niche.
He shares, “We have three new gyoza flavours at a weekend pop-up event at Pohutukawa Coffee in PJ, on March 23-24. It is our first dine-in experience, in collaboration with Pohutukawa Coffee as well as Many Aprons and Floratorie.co.”
Gyoza For Life will continue to expand their reach with more pop-up events, food expos as well as launching new flavours for their addictive dumplings.
Choong says, “Three years in, we continue to push boundaries and think differently. People who once thought ‘Eww... krapao in gyoza form?’ are now our repeat customers. We want every bite to be fun, exciting and surprising.”
This might explain Gyoza For Life’s slogan: Bringing you happiness, one pouch at a time.
In accordance with this philosophy, Choong rewards diehard fans of his gyozas with seasonal flavours. For the recent Chinese New Year celebrations, they created one filled with juicy pork jerky, smoked onions, charred garlic, and mixed with smoky homemade bak kwa marinade.
He says, “We are definitely keen on doing more seasonal flavours. Maybe nian gao oozing out of the gyoza? Or a fancy poon choy gyoza? We have loads of ideas. We shall see!”
Gyoza For Life
Web: https://gyozaforlife.oddle.me/en_MY/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/gyozaforlife
IG: https://www.instagram.com/gyozaforlife2.0/
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