June 24, 2026
MIRI – A devastating financial betrayal completely wiped out Tiong Ung Kai, a contractor, 26 years ago.
At the lowest ebb in his life, he could never imagine how taufufa, selling at RM1.50 per bowl then, could become the turning point in his life.
Long before he became a household name on the streets of Miri as “Uncle Van”, Tiong, now 68, was a successful construction contractor.
Originally from Sarikei, he moved to Brunei in 1978, where his business flourished to the point of managing 160 employees.
During the financial crisis in 1998, Tiong was hit by massive bad debts totalling over RM200,000, forcing him to shut down his company and lay off his entire workforce.
His entire savings were wiped out overnight.
Refusing to give up, Tiong, his wife, and their four children moved from Labuan to Miri to start over.
At that time, a Singaporean friend in Brunei had purchased three soy-pudding-making machines which his own children had no interest in running.
Sensing an opportunity, Tiong decided to take a gamble.
The early days were brutal. In the late 1990s, recipes weren’t readily available on the internet.
Tiong had the machinery but no formula for making smooth taufufa or rich soy milk.
“Back then, I had no one to teach me. Everything was done through trial and error,” Tiong said.
He and his wife spent months experimenting, dumping out countless tubs of failed, curdled soy pudding until they finally perfected the recipe.
Even after hitting the streets in his trusty van – which he has driven for over 40 years now – success didn’t come overnight.
Nobody knew who he was, and many passersby refused to even try his products.
To build a reputation, Tiong began to give out free bowls to customers.
“In the beginning, we lost money every single day. But I told myself I had to persevere.
“If you don’t have determination, you simply won’t survive this,” he said.
His daily earnings grew from losses to a hundred ringgit, eventually blossoming into a stable, highly successful mobile food truck business that put his four children through school.
For 26 years, his friendly humour, generous portions, and reliable service made him a fixture of Miri culture.
Yet, despite the praise, Tiong remained incredibly humble – and vigilant.
Beyond taufufa, locals also fall in love with his sweet dessert soups and traditional snacks.
Many regulars note that his fried noodles taste exactly like their old school canteens – offering a bite-sized piece of pure nostalgia.
A promise to the next generation: stepping down
After more than two decades on the road, Uncle Van has officially announced that he will retire by the end of this year, a revelation that has left regular customers deeply saddened.
Miri people are very familiar with this mobile truck and the friendly uncle. PHOTO: SIN CHEW DAILY
“If I keep selling, it wouldn’t be fair to my apprentices,” Tiong said.
“I have promised to hand down my life’s work to them. I will stand behind them, help them advertise, and even do livestreams to support them, but I will no longer run the business myself.”
His greatest fear in retiring isn’t the loss of income, but the fear that the traditional flavours which have accompanied Miri residents for a quarter of a century might vanish.
To prevent this, he is looking for dedicated successors.
Currently, at least six people have approached him to learn the trade, including an aspiring entrepreneur from Singapore.
Charging a one-time fee, Tiong is offering to teach his 26 years of culinary and business experience completely free of secrets to anyone with a genuine passion for the craft.
“I don’t have grandiose ideals,” Tiong smiled.
“I just hope that the recipes I spent years painfully figuring out won’t disappear when I retire.
“I want young-generation entrepreneurs to avoid the long, winding detours I had to take,” he said.
Anyone interested in learning Uncle Van’s traditional recipes and business insights can contact him directly at 013-8357733 or 011-19862233. He is ready to pass on his legacy with zero reservations.