How much will you pay for a snack?
Some people are unwilling to pay more for a traditional snack like pau (steamed bun), second-generation owners of the popular Tanjong Rhu Pau told AsiaOne on Thursday (Feb 26).
“People always say that for pau, $1 is expensive but they’re willing to spend $4 on a croissant or $3 on a muffin,” said Yap Wei Jie, 43.
His sister Chloe, 48, chimed in: “Not to say that other snacks don’t deserve that high value, but they don’t think paus warrant a higher price even though the amount of work that goes into making them is a lot.”
“We’re just hoping that people will be more receptive to what a pau can offer them. We have protein inside, it can even be a meal in itself,” she added.
This is one of the biggest hurdles they face while running a business that’s been serving up freshly made, handmade pau for over three decades.
Steamed buns at this heritage eatery are priced at 90 cents for Lotus Seed and Red Bean paus, $1 for Mini Char Siew Pau and $2 forYuan Yang and Big Pork Paus.
The siblings took the helm from their father, founder Yap Peng Wah, in 2015.
Another challenge they face is having to live up to the comparisons that customers make between present-day steamed buns and those of the past.
Wei Jie recounted feeling disheartened when he received feedback that their paus had gotten smaller over the years.
“In our minds, we were thinking that the size of the box didn’t change. 10 years ago, I was able to fit 10 pieces in there, but now I find it more difficult to fit them in, because our paus actually grew bigger,” he explained.
Understanding that this was likely due to the perception of “last time is always better”, he said: “We hope to encourage people to come to us with an open mind and give us a try again.”
Nearly lost hand in accident
Wei Jie also had a physical obstacle to overcome while running the business.
In 2020, he nearly lost his hand in a dough machine accident. The injury was severe, and he was told by the doctor that there was a high chance his middle finger would be amputated.
Despite this, Wei Jie managed to retain about 90 per cent of his hand’s function after two more surgeries.
Following the accident, the business owner struggled to get back to making paus.
It took him three months to rebuild his strength with physiotherapy, and he also had to adjust his technique before returning to the kitchen.
In addition to the physical challenges, Wei Jie had to overcome the mental hurdle of using the same dough machine which injured him.
