Hock Ann Coffeeshop, a.k.a, Hock Ann Eating House, is located at 125-127 East Coast Road. This eating house is synonymous with the famous tau kwa pau stall which is co-locating within the same coffeeshop.
History
Hock Ann Eating House, a quaint coffeeshop at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road, initiated the famous Katong tau kwa pau. Tau kwa pau is a pocket of fried bean curd stuffed with a delicious mix of pork, fishballs, fried yams, eggs and cucumbers, all thinly sliced. The unique taste of Hock Ann's tau kwa pau had made the stall and Hock Ann Eating House a famous eatery in Katong. The tau kwa pau stall was founded by Khoo Buck Teck in the 1950s. Born in the early 1920s, Koo Buck Teck started off as an itinerant trader with a pushcart selling pau to passers-by. In the early days, itinerant pau hawkers often carried their wares stuffed into two baskets balanced on a pole. Others who were better equipped roamed the streets with a pushcart. They would challenge those walking by to a game of dice which would attract other people to watch the game. The stake would range from a few cents to a dollar for the vendor, but if the customer won, he would win a tau kwa pau. Sometimes depending on the bet placed, the customer could win even a whole duck. Khoo Buck Teck, an enterprising man who captured the hearts of his customers with his unique-tasting pau, presumably did well enough in his business to establish his own stall at the Hock Ann Eating House.
Description
Currently, the son of Buck Teck, Khoo Lian Hwa, runs the shop after the senior Khoo had retired in 1989. The pau sold looks like a bulging burger. It has ingredients with a whole range of textures stuffed into it, and it comes with a special duck sauce and a dipping chilli sauce. The sauces tastes different due to the presence of garlic and sugar with sliced green chillies floating on its surface. The stall currently sells approximately 600 pieces a day at an affordable price of 90 cents per piece. A customer could also order braised duck, wuxiang, kway teow, duck rice and pig's tongue, heart and intestines. The shop is open from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm daily and is closed on Mondays.
The site on which Hock Ann sits was previously occupied by a market. The market was subsequently moved to the present Katong Mall area before being moved again, permanently, to Marine Parade. After the market's last move, the construction of Hock Ann in Katong began. Hock Ann had an old charm, warmed by the mosaic floor, stained ceiling and the characteristic green paint peel of an old coffeeshop. These traits disappeared when the eating-house was renovated in the early 2000s. The bright new shop however has not dimmed the popularity of the tau kwa pau stall.
Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja
References
Mah, K. K. (1994, September 18). Bean curd for a snack or complete meal. The Straits Times, Sunday Plus, p. 19.
First to roti John stall, then to Botanic Gardens. (1998, August 23). The Straits Times, p. 10.
The InnCrowd. (2002). Geylang Serai, Joo Chiat, Marine Parade & Stadium Cove. Retrieved September 8, 2003, from www.the-inncrowd.com/joochiat.htm
Makansutra Media Pte Ltd. (2002). Tau kuah pau. Retrieved September 8, 2003, from sg.food.yahoo.com/hawker/stall/tau_kuah_pau.html
The information in this article is valid as at 2003 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
