Kueh Mekar — Food design

Product concept, 2018

Kueh Mekar is a fictitious Peranakan sweet, crafted as part of vibrant wedding traditions and symbolising harmony, fertility, and auspiciousness.

(above) Prototypes from other design students participating in this design course module

Photo: NUS Industrial Design

Design brief for the course module

Initial Explorations — Utilising a range of tools to replicate aesthetics inspired by the references.

Initial explorations — Using various tools to explore shape and form possibilities.

Formulating the Recipe

Inspired by the Peranakan culture, I explored traditional peranakan artifacts from colonial Singapore to develop on my concept, an interpretation of the “kueh.” Using a recipe of 15g potato starch and 20g water, I managed to achieve my ideal consistency of a soft, moist texture of a product form through steaming.

Inspiration — Colours in traditional Peranakan artifacts from colonial Singapore

Initial explorations — Determining the optimal proportions for my recipe

Inspired by the drapes and folds of fabrics — my “kueh” could be set in shape after it hardens.

A cup was used as a mould to shape the ‘kueh’ during my initial exploration of tool usage.

Presenting Kueh Mekar in various forms

Photo: NUS Industrial Design

Concept of the design (The story behind the “Kueh”)

Kueh Mekar is a ficticious sweet snack usually prepared before the day of the grand wedding in the Peranakan culture. “Mekar” means Bloom in Malay. This flower-shaped cake is commonly associated with marriage and fertility.

On the eve of her wedding, the young Nyonya will prepare the cake and thread a long piece of red string through it. The red thread holds the cake in the shape of a flower. The bloom of the flower is likened to the young Nyonya. Being in the most prominent and beautiful stage of her life

Colours are usually used in the preparation of the cake. The fusion between the colours expresses the joyous union of the male Baba and female Nyonya.

Once the shape of the cake has formed, it is placed on the family altar. This is a plea to the ancestors to watch over the couple and create an everlasting marriage. The Nyonya will then cut the red string and consume a small piece of it with her Bibik (Mother) as a token of blessing.