Stay-At-Home Mum Wants To Help You Look Prettier With “Guilt-Free” Tang Shui

“Everyone is making [and selling] cookies and brownies, even Jeanette Aw. I’m doing something different,” says Apple Ng, a stay-at-home mum (SAHM) who started The Chinese Potion in May selling tang shui (literally translated as “sugar water” in Mandarin).

Formerly a Global Tender Analyst at DHL, Apple, who’d worked in the corporate sector for 17 years, gave up her job to spend more time with her then 10-year-old son, who was experiencing “social distress” at school. “Even though we were not very financially comfortable, I knew that I wanted to be there for my son whenever he needed me.” As her son’s condition stabilised over the years (he’s 16 now), Apple, who says she enjoys being a SAHM, started toying with the idea of returning to the workforce. “Part of me felt that something was missing,” she says. “I wished that I had a job of my own, but ideally not full-time. That marked the start of The Chinese Potion.”

While other home cooks have taken Covid-19 as the impetus to start their home-based businesses, the 44-year-old mother of two (she also has a 12-year-old daughter) already had plans to start hawking her homemade Chinese dessert, which she claims has beauty-enhancing properties, to office ladies even before the Circuit Breaker. “These desserts are more often appreciated by womenfolk. I believe women want to take care of their complexion and health, but it’s time-consuming making these desserts, especially for exhausted multi-tasking women since most working women often revolve their needs and lives around their kids and husband,” she tells us. “That’s why I came up with the idea. It’s an easy way to provide self-care for today’s busy woman. Every bowl is made with only nourishing premium ingredients and very lightly sweetened so that it can be taken regularly as a guilt-free healthy dessert.”

Apple, who is of Teochew descent, sells four different types of tang shui ($6 each) from her home in Bedok. Each 650g portion (serves about 2 pax) contains a generous helping of traditional Chinese ingredients like peach gum, goji berry and snow fungus from China that she mixed and matched herself. “My mum used to make tang shui when I was young, but these aren’t family recipes,” she says. “I spent about two months researching the different properties of the ingredients online to come up with the four versions.”

The brews, which can be eaten warm or cold and can be kept up to a week in the fridge (though Apple recommends finishing it within two days), are only available thrice a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) and only through advanced orders (min order five bowls two days in advance; delivery fee from $7). Even so, the process of making each batch is laborious and time-consuming and keeps Apple busy five days out of the week. “I have to prep all the ingredients the day before to keep it fresh,” says Apple. “It takes a very long time to rehydrate the ingredients and clean them by hand.” So far, business has been promising with Apple selling up to 70 bowls a day on good days and raking in up to $3,000 a month.

The enterprising mum has also been actively reaching out to influencers and celebrities like Michelle Chong, Cynthia Koh, David Gan and Zoe Tay to spread the word. All by messaging them on their Instagram accounts — IG truly is the great social equaliser. “They have been very kind and have posted about my brews on their social media [accounts],” she says. “I think David Gan really likes it ’cos he posted twice.” Here’s the English translation of what he wrote: “Your tang shui is really solid, very filling. You’re generous with your ingredients. It’s so delicious, I brought one more bowl home to eat. I can eat two bowls.”

Lightly sweetened with honey rock sugar, this “anti-ageing” brew is slightly tangy with a strong almond undertone from the apricot kernels. There’s plenty of bite and texture with each mouthful from the crunchy apricot kernels and big blooms of snow fungus. And with the generous portion, it almost eats like a meal on its own. The cubes of China golden pear also add an additional refreshing element to the already light dessert.

The broth in this brew, which is supposedly rich in collagen, is ever so slightly thicker than the others and feels a bit more substantial. We enjoy the fragrance and sweetness permeating from the perfectly ripe papaya (a Hong Kong variety from Malaysia). This concoction, which also includes snow lotus seed and goji berries, is sweetened with candied winter melon. The proportions are well balanced without being too bland. But for the sweet tooth, there’s a small tub of pure sugar syrup they can add to tweak it to their liking.

Tangy and fruity with a light floral undertone, this brew is made with peach gum (the resin from peach and Chinese wild peach trees, purportedly rich in amino acids which allows the body to absorb collagen quickly), China Fuji apple, osmanthus, goji berries and candied Winter Melon and is believed to boost metabolism and reduce stress. We like the contrasting textures in this brew from the lightly perfumed gelatinous globs of peach gum and the crunchy apples. It would probably go down well after an especially greasy meal.

Perhaps our least favourite of the batch, this one has a slightly medicinal taste to it and is a tad too sour for our liking. Reminds us of something our parents would force down our throats as kids. That might be attributed to the laundry list of traditional Chinese ingredients like Tragacanth gum (also known as xue yan), dried longans, dried lily bulbs, red dates and lotus seeds.

Light and refreshing traditional Chinese brews that are ideal for those who don’t like their desserts too sweet. It may seem quite pricy at $6 per bowl, but the portions are generous. Plus, we feel prettier already.

Whatsapp orders to 9763-5766 at least two days in advance. www.facebook.com/the chinesepotion

PHOTOS: THE CHINESE POTION