Traditional Teochew mooncake : Chop Mui Lee

When I first met my husband, I had never heard of "Teochew mooncake" even though my mother was Teochew. We visited his family's favourite Teochew confectionary, Chop Mui Lee. Although the shop had two branches, we visited the HQ "factory" in Commonwealth Crescent. Even when I first visited in 2009, the shop was a throwback to the past, it felt like we had walked through a time portal and arrived in the 1970s. Old uncle and aunties sat in the kitchen, painstakingly making these pastries by hand. It was a memory that I am glad I had shared with my husband as this shop in Commonwealth Crescent closed down in 2011. The owners decided to move operations to Malaysia as there were just not enough people here interested in the vanishing heritage food. And of course labour was cheaper there. Fortunately, there is still a retail shop in Singapore, for now.