Tambun Heong Peng Baked In Clay Ovens Remains A Timeless Delight

By Mohamad Harith Mohamad Nizar

IPOH, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- A beloved spot on Jalan Tambun Baru, IXiang Biscuits and Confectionery has been delighting locals for years with its Ma Ti Su biscuits, fondly called Heong Peng.

With a history of over 40 years, the business continues to delight locals with its traditional biscuits, baked the old-school way in clay ovens, their rich aroma rising from fires of coconut shells and charcoal.

The business is currently run by 47-year-old Teoh Seng Nyap, together with his partner and brother-in-law, 54-year-old Liew Ming Foon, and Liew’s wife, Teoh Fei Looi, also 54.

Liew said it is the sweet, smoky fragrance from the clay ovens that draws customers looking for authentic treats, particularly during the Chinese New Year season, setting them apart from mass-produced, machine-made biscuits.

He added that the traditional skill of making these biscuits has been passed down through generations and is still preserved by the family, ensuring each treat remains crispy, not overly sweet, and with a distinctive texture.

Liew said the biscuits’ uniqueness lies in being baked in clay pots using coconut shells as fuel, creating a far richer aroma than modern machine-made alternatives.

“We bake around 120 biscuits in the clay oven every hour and on a busy day, we can produce about 1,200 to keep up with demand,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Teoh said the biscuits are made using simple ingredients like onions, maltose, sugar and flour, without the need for any fancy machinery.

She said making the biscuits takes a lot of precision, especially when preparing the two types of dough, ‘pei’ (flour and water) and ‘sor’ (oil and flour), which are carefully mixed and kneaded to achieve the perfect texture before the filling is added.

The biscuits, Teoh said, were named ‘Ma Ti Su’ for their horse-hoof shape, but in cities like Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, they are fondly called ‘Heong Peng’, or fragrant biscuits in Cantonese, highlighting their signature sweet aroma.

According to her, the biscuits are known by different names across the country, with Taiping, Penang and Johor preferring the original name, Ma Ti Su.

Teoh said her shop sells eight biscuits for RM11, while individually packaged biscuits, often bought as gifts, are priced at RM12.

“During the Chinese New Year festive season, demand usually doubles, with sales reaching 200 to 300 packs a day, as many locals return home and tourists also stop by,” she said, adding that her shop is open daily from 7.30 am to 4.30 pm, except Wednesdays.

Meanwhile, Liew said while the shop sells a range of treats, including crackers, chicken floss rollers, tau sar piah with peanut filling, pineapple tarts and kaya puffs, it is the Heong Peng that most visitors come looking for.

Liew, who began learning the art of biscuit-making at 14, said the main hurdle for keeping the tradition alive is that few young people are willing to work in the hot, physically demanding environment of the kitchen.

“So far, making Heong Peng the traditional way hasn’t really interested younger people. They don’t want to deal with the heat and hard work of the clay ovens,” he said.

-- BERNAMA