History Of Bee Luan
1800s - 1900s
Our recipe traces its beginnings to the late 1800s - around 150 years ago. In 1854, Chia Wan Neo was born. In 1879, she gave birth to Pang Say Nyah, and in turn, in 1909, Say Nyah bore Tan Bee Luan.
Bee Luan was the youngest of nine siblings. Her mother, Say Nyah, was a Peranakan or Straits-born Chinese, while her father was Tan Gim Wee, a fourth-generation Singapore Chinese who ran a pawnshop. She was educated at Geylang Methodist Girls' School. In 1936, Bee Luan married Mr Teo Siok Guan (张淑源), a Director at the Bank of Singapore and a Justice of Peace.
Tan Bee Luan inherited Chia Wan Neo's curry powder recipe, and being literate, recorded it in her notebook, thus ensuring its survival. After Mr Teo Siok Guan's passing in 1957, Mdm Tan would prepare food annually for distribution to family and friends in remembrance of him. Aside from the curry, her specialties included achar, rice dumplings and hoon kueh (a coconut jelly-like dessert). Happily, this practice continues amongst Mdm Tan's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bee Luan's curry powder recipe reflects its Southeast Asian origins in its use of regional ingredients. The port cities of Indonesia, Malaya and Singapore engaged in robust trading with peoples from China, India, and Europe. Quite organically, this mix of cultures gave rise to a fusion cuisine as recipes and tastes got borrowed from one another. Eventually, monikers including "Straits-born" and "Peranakan" (a Malay-Indonesian word meaning locally born) were ascribed to the unique culture and community of the region.
With businesses including a pawnshop, cycle and motorcar accessories, and real estate holdings, Mdm Tan's Peranakan family was steeped in the affluence of a golden age of mercantile.
2000s - present
Today, Mdm Tan's grandson, Mr Emil Teo, is the Executive Director at Taste of Tradition, a company noted for pioneering end-to-end cold chain logistics and establishing the first public cellerage facility for the wine industry in Singapore. Mr Teo was also the Director (Asia) at Famille Perrin, Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the world's top 50 wineries, where he established distribution channels for the distinguished winery across key Asia markets.
In February 2019, Taste of Tradition produced a limited run of Granny's Curry Powder as a corporate favour for friends and family who have supported its wine business. Soon after, during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Taste of Tradition decided to give out complimentary sachets of curry powder to the public. These were delivered via SingPost. The initiative receive positive feedback, and inspired the company to embark on producing and marketing the powder for general consumption.
Bee Luan Granny's Curry Powder is made from spices of the highest grade: grower traceable, non-GMO, certified free of microbes, heavy metals and mycotoxins. Before milling, the spices are cleaned of foreign matter and steam-sterilised. The pure spices, high in essential oils, are then cryogenically milled at -80°C to preserve their inherent qualities. The spices are also passed through a metal detector three times, ensuring safety, and packed into individual sachets to seal in all their aromas.