Pro at work: Lee making honeycomb cookies for customers for the Chinese New Year celebrations.
IPOH: When Joanne Lee started her small, home-baked honeycomb cookie venture, she would do all the preparations and cooking herself.
However, after being diagnosed with high-blood pressure, the 67-year-old said her husband Lim Kim Hing, 72, has stepped up to assist her, turning it into a husband-and-wife activity.
“The heat from the oil can be very hot and could affect my blood pressure.
“He’ll do the frying part while I prepare the batter for the cookies,” said the former boutique operator at their home in Taman Rapat Damai here yesterday.
“Not only do we spend more time together, but it also allows us to earn some income.
“I am really grateful and appreciative of my husband,” she added.
Lee said honeycomb cookies are a staple for many households during Chinese New Year.
She said the honeycomb cookies are usually called mud foong tau (honey bee nest) in Cantonese.
“I dub them wong foong tau (hornet/wasp nest), to make them sound nicer, with the play on the word ‘wong’, which symbolises prosperity,” she quipped.
“It’s just my way to express our best wishes to our customers,” she added.
Lee said her home-based venture started about 10 years ago.
“I had then bought some really hard honeycomb cookies, which I felt would not be suitable for the elderly.
“As I also have an interest in baking, I researched recipes to make my own version,” she said, adding that she also bakes peanut cookies for the Lunar New Year celebration.
“It took me quite a while to perfect the recipe for a ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ honeycomb cookie which is also not very sweet.
“We can also adjust the texture of the cookies according to our customers’ request, as there are some who prefer a crispier version,” she added.
Lee said apart from good ingredients, it is key to have patience in order to produce a good honeycomb cookie.
“In general, the steps to make them are straightforward.
“But there are certainly some very important steps to making very good ones,” she said, adding that the cookies can be kept for about two months.
“There needs to be the right measurement of ingredients in the batter mixture, the temperature of the oil and the method to fry them.
“A lot of focus and patience is required,” she added.
Lee said she has received about 300 orders for her honeycomb cookies for the festivities this year.
“Orders started coming in towards the end of last year and are still coming in.
“We also have customers who order the cookies from us to be taken back to Singapore and Australia,” she said, adding that a jar of the honeycomb cookies is priced at RM25.
“We’ve also had requests from a customer to make them last Christmas as gifts,” she added.
She also said that they do not actively promote their honeycomb cookies on social media and only rely on their regular customers’ recommendations.
“We are really grateful to our regulars for their trust and confidence, as well as their continued support,” she added.
