THE idea of halal dim sum may seem like a contradiction in terms, given that pork is a staple ingredient in traditional favourites such as siew mai and char siew pau.
But dim sum manufacturer Sin Mui Heng Food Industries promises that its halal versions - which replace pork with chicken - taste just like the real thing. With over 80 per cent of Singapore's hotels among its customers, that claim has ample backing.
Halal dim sum is a far cry from Sin Mui Heng's origins. Company founder and executive chairman Tay Yeong Kwee started out as a pork supplier, then had the idea of using excess pork to make pau (pork bun). Pau sales soon overtook those of pork, and Sin Mui Heng - a business dedicated to pau - was formed in 1961.
The company has since widened its range to include dim sum and other snacks, both halal and non-halal. Johnson Tay, director of operations, tells BT: 'We like to go into varieties. Because in Singapore, you can't go with quantity.'
Mr Tay and his three siblings now manage their father's company. His elder sister, Nelly, is the company's financial controller and general manager. Elder brother Ken handles sales and marketing, while younger sister Evan heads the company's business development. 'The four of us are very close-knit,' says Mr Tay, who recalls spending his school holidays, together with his siblings, helping out at his father's business.
Sin Mui Heng makes over 300 types of dim sum and snacks, from red bean pancakes and chive swee kao to abalone dumplings and sugarcane prawns. Only some of these can be found in supermarkets, however. Most of Sin Mui Heng's product range goes to hotels and caterers - although they only account for about half of sales, with supermarket sales making up the other half.
Mr Tay explains that Sin Mui Heng creates 20 to 30 new types of dim sum each year, often according to the specifications of hotel chefs. While production is mostly automated, many of the customised products are still handmade. Explaining why the new varieties are not in supermarkets, he says: 'Singaporeans like new products, but eventually they'll fall back on siew mai, har kao ...' Packaging also requires much investment, he adds.
Yet these were relatively recent developments. Sin Mui Heng began to automate its production in the 1970s, and started supplying supermarkets instead of hawker centres in 1985 - but did not approach hotels and caterers until 1995.
The mid-90s were a time of change, recalls Mr Tay. The whole family 'sat down and discussed' the company's future, deciding not only to widen its product range beyond pau and siew mai, but to establish an overseas factory in Johor Baru.
The Malaysian factory marked the start of Sin Mui Heng's halal production. A second halal factory followed in Singapore. And when the Singapore operations were relocated in 2003, product flow was redesigned such that 90 per cent of production came from halal factories, up from 50 per cent previously.
The new SMH brand was also created to set the halal range apart from its non-halal products, which are marketed under the Sin Mui Heng brand. Sin Mui Heng hopes that halal certification will help it enter the Middle East. 'We have high hopes for Dubai and the Middle East market,' says Mr Tay.
The company was an official supplier for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. In February, it went to the Gulfood 2007 food and hospitality industry event in Dubai, where its products were well received.
Some of the hotel chefs in Dubai were from Singapore and Malaysia, and recognised Sin Mui Heng's products, says Mr Tay. Deals were signed, and Sin Mui Heng's first container to Dubai left just a week ago.
Under the export brand Xing's, about 5 per cent of sales go to countries such as Barbados, Australia and Brunei. In 2001, the company made a foray into China, but found it hard to enter a market which relied so much on price competition.
'We do not compete on prices,' says Mr Tay. 'We believe in letting the quality speak for itself.'
The emphasis on quality means that Sin Mui Heng uses no preservatives, relying instead on blast chilling and blast freezing to maintain freshness.
Nor does the company rely on branding. Says Mr Tay: 'We have come across a lot of competitors who actually bank so hard on advertising that, after a while, they disappear from the market totally.'
Instead, he says, the company keeps an eye on market trends. For instance, it was an early recipient of the Healthier Choice symbol, after switching to a specially formulated, low-sugar tau sar (red bean) filling for its pau.
And Sin Mui Heng is now working on a vegetarian range, which will rely on vegetables rather than mock meat. 'We want to go for the 'pure' kind of vegetarian (food),' says Mr Tay.
Why vegetarian dim sum? 'Anything can happen. Back in 1995, when we started the halal factory, a lot of people asked why we were going into halal food.'
But Sin Mui Heng's diversification paid off, and even helped the company through various crises, recalls Mr Tay. During the regional outbreak of foot and mouth disease several years ago, for instance, strong sales of halal products made up for the slack in the non-halal range.
And during the Sars crisis, supermarket sales rose as consumers stocked up, compensating for reduced sales to hotels, as fewer people chose to eat out.
Of Sin Mui Heng's diverse product ranges, Mr Tay says: 'They actually complement each other.' After halal and Healthier Choice food, vegetarian dim sum seems an almost natural next step.
