Mister Chu

Chu Fung Leung, well known for the large selection of Hakka mooncakes, is where good taste & happiness are merged from just one bite. Are you ready to bite into the delicious and scrumptious cakes of the Chu family? 

 Evolution of the business

In 1936, KoungKoung (grand father) Chu came to our small island from Meizhou (梅州), also known as Moyenne, by boat. Like many other Chinese migrants, he had to work until he had enough money to make his wife come from China in 1938. With his knowledge of making Chinese cakes in a pastry shop in China, he opened his first dream shop in 1942 on Royal Street (Rue Royale). 

He then passed on his knowledge to his son, Hoeng Kue(2nd generation) still in his 80s, who later took over the business when he passed away in 1972. After a fire incident in 2013, Mister Chu is now located in the corner of Emmanuel Anquetil street (Rue la Rampe) and Venpin street (Manga street). As Mr Bernard Chu (3rd generation) said: "Mister Chu is popular for its chinese delicacies and is unique. Did you know that it is the only place which makes these Chinese cakes in so many varieties?". 

Chinese delicacies

Indeed the only place in Chinatown where a dozen of varieties of Hakka Chinese cakes can be found is at Mr Chu. Only a few of those varieties still exist in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Their cakes are made with rice flour which is convenient to everyone as it is gluten-free; and most of the cakes are made during 3 main festivals in Mauritius. Let’s discover them together!

Chinese New Year 

 During Chinese New Year, the most common cakes are the nian gao (年糕), known as "gato la cire" in Mauritius, the sesame balls ("gato gingeli") , and the "gato cravatte". The nian gao, in which orange zest is added, was and still is one of KoungKoung Chu's biggest footprint on our island. Gato la cire can also be made with milk as an alternative, which I personally prefer. 

Mid Autumn Festival 

The Mid Autumn Festival or "Fete la Lune" is when most Hakka moon cakes (yue bing) are sold. For every mid-autumn festival, Koung Koung Chu used to proudly hang up his beautiful round moon signature as a reminder that the festival was soon coming. Moreover, he also created the exquisite Wu Ren Bing (oven biscuit filled with crystallized pawpaw{dong gua}, pistachios ,and sesame seeds) which is cooked in the old fashioned charcoal oven. See below the different types of yue bing (p.s 2nd column 4th line is 牛奶糕 instead of 朱奶糕).

Dragon Boat Festival 

 For the Dragon Boat Festival, the delicious zongzi which is a pyramid shape dumpling is prepared with glutinous rice and wrapped up in "fatak" leaves, which are not easy to obtain nowadays. In Mauritius, the most common zong zi would be made with only glutinous rice and this is eaten with some sugar and peanuts crushed together. However, some people, mostly from cantonese origin, would make the zong zi with glutinous rice filled with meat, beans and other fillings.

 

Although all the cakes are yummy, I think the most popular one is the Chu Chong Gao; some with pineapple or strawberry flavor. This is appreciated by not only the sino-mauritians but also by all Mauritians.

 

If you haven’t tried or even if you already had, come and say hello to our magical Chinatown and taste the various delicacies of Mister Chu.

Written by JL