As mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, mooncakes lovers are stocking up different styles of mooncakes for celebration.  Rocky Yeung, owner of a time-honored Chiu Chow-style cake shop, shares with us his secret receipts for Chiu-chow mooncakes and his innovative tips for keeping authentic taste! Don’t miss it!

Hello everyone. I am Rocky Yeung, the second-generation successor of Kwai Yue Zai cake shop.  I am 64 years old now, but I never thought of retirement because working makes me happy every day.

VO: 

Kowloon City has long been known as ‘Little Chiu Chow,’ and our time-honored Chiu Chow-style cake shop on South Wall Road of Kowloon City has earned fame from its traditional cakes. Remarkably, the technique for making Chiu Chow cakes was included in Hong Kong's first intangible cultural heritage list ten years ago. Master Rocky Yeung, who began learning cake-making from his father at the age of 9, hopes everyone will get to know this cultural heritage, and the first step is to savor the authentic taste of Chiu Chow cake.

Rocky Yeung: 

Our family specializes in making cakes of Chiu Chow style. The shop was founded by my father and his brothers in 1948. It moved from Tsim Sha Tsui to Kowloon City in 1969 and have continued the business ever since. I often say this is not just a piece of cake, it represents the efforts of many people.

We have inherited the flavors of cakes from various towns in Chiu Chow while continually innovating. When we discuss the essence of the past, we don't just refer to the chef making the cake in front of you. Instead, it encompasses the skills and traditions accumulated from many masters over generations, all reflected in the work of the current chef.

VO: 

In addition to retaining the original flavor, maintaining the quality of preservative-free Chiu Chow cakes is a significant challenge. To help customers enjoy the freshly baked taste at home, Master Yeung discovered a very useful kitchen appliance a few years ago. With this magic tool, he creatively developed more than ten new cake varieties. What exactly is this magic tool?

Rocky Yeung:

We now use freezing technology and air fryers, which allow us to avoid adding preservatives. ‘U’ stands for water chestnut. Simply take the water chestnut out of the refrigerator and place it in the air fryer—there's no need to worry about time or temperature differences. Bake at 190 degrees for 11 minutes, then remove it and brush a little oil on the surface. Finally, bake at 160 degrees for another 7 minutes. Enjoy it with water chestnuts and taro paste. I particularly like the freshness of the water chestnuts. Historically, water chestnuts weren't used in cake-making because they would spoil quickly at room temperature. Thanks to freezing technology, this is possible now. Air fryers require minimal cooking skills. We've created a reference table. As long as you buy our air-fried cakes and follow the instructions on the reference table, even if you've never made Chiu Chow cakes before, you can make the best Chiu Chow cake with no waste.

VO: 

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, many Chiu Chow cake lovers flock to Kwai Yue Zai in Kowloon City to purchase boxes of Chiu Chow cakes for celebration. The advancements in freezing technology and the popularity of air fryers also stimulate Master Yeung's creativity.

Rocky Yeung:

By using freezing technology and air fryers, we have successfully kept our authentic flavors. Now every day can be the Mid-Autumn Festival. There’s no need to wait for the first and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar, people can enjoy Chiu Chow cakes whenever they like.