When a friend in the PR industry suggested that I interviewed Leong Hoo Yin, the proprietor of Sarang, I didn’t give it much thought. He was just someone to interview, to fill a quota imposed on us at the desk.

A means to an end.

Leong asked me to call him sometime after the lunch hour and dinner rush. In addition to being the owner of the business, he is also the cook. He quips that his business is still so small that there is no room for titles at Sarang.

I expected little from the interview, but what I got was one of the best stories I have ever had the privilege to tell. A story of a man who fell in love with one of the oldest fusion cuisines in the world and decided to continue its legacy.

Leong learned all of the recipes he prepared at the restaurant from a Baba Wee, a fifth-generation Baba who in turn learned them from the ladies in his family. These recipes are traditionally handed down from mother to daughter in the kitchen. However, because of family issues, they were handed down to Baba Wee, a son in the family.

Baba Wee is a library of recipes, but not all of his recipes are practical for a restaurant, bantered Leong. He picks the dishes and set the menu based on his experience running a coffee shop. When Leong sold it off, he didn’t expect to run another business.

However, he could not let good food go to waste, and honestly, he was looking for something else to do.

Unfortunately, by the time the story was published, the country was in its second nationwide lockdown. Currently, Sarang could only offer delivery and takeaways, but Leong says that once the restrictions are lifted, Sarang will also return as an event space and he would once again hold cooking classes. He plans to invite seniors, including his mother, to teach the younger generation to cook traditional recipes before it is all forgotten.