Traditional Wedding Crackers from Oh Swee Len

The quiet village of Kampung Bukit Chandang, Batang Kali, boasts two popular crackers, sesame ‘Mua Lao’ and rice crispy ‘Lao Huei’.

Manufactured since 1923 by Oh Swee Len, now Swee Len Food Industries, the business is currently managed by Leonard Oh and his wife. Leonard is the third generation who returned from a cushy job in Singapore to take over the business from his father.

The manufacturing of these crackers are all still done manually in the traditional way. This is one of the reasons these crackers are so popular – they have managed to retain their authentic tastes after all these years.

‘Mua Lao’ and ‘Lao Huei’ are actually crackers that make part of the gift package from the groom to his bride. In turn, the parents of the bride give out these crackers to relatives and friends to announce the marriage of their daughter.

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? Apparently, this is only a tradition for the Fujian clan. However, today, these crackers have moved beyond wedding tradition and have become an everyday snack.

And so, Leonard is planning to set up a factory to handle the demand from customers. Which also means, the traditional taste will end with that. As the saying goes, one must move with the times.

Oh Swee Len / Swee Len Food Industries
Ad: 65, Kampung Bukit Chandang, 44300 Batang Kali, Selangor.
Tel: +603-60572634

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