I sit with the siblings at the SS22 outlet, and behind them is a nostalgic mural depicting their father’s stall, with a bicycle leaning on the front of the painting. This homage to their roots appears in every one of Dáo’s locations.

“After opening the Subang location, we opened in SS22 in the following year,” Kelly says. During the pandemic, they opened the Puchong and Kuchai Lama stores, catering to neighbourhood residents. “After, Dáo expanded to Cheras, Kota Kemuning, and most recently, Bukit Tinggi,” she enthuses. 

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With seven flourishing locations and more in the pipeline, the soy speciality café is a concept that time has proven successful. However, the siblings recall how initially the response was mixed since customers felt items were limited to soy-based products. But the trio persisted, trusting in the quality of Dáo’s offerings.

“The great thing about our tau fu fah and soy milk is that it isn’t something new—it’s like Milo, with a familiar, comforting flavour,” Carmen smiles. “Some of our customers who moved from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur would try our dessert and tell us it was the first time they experienced tau fu fah that reminded them of their childhood.”

Tau fu fah is typically considered a traditional Chinese street food, so Carmen, Joe, and Kelly wanted to make the experience at Dáo trendy and modern. “We have traditional desserts and soy milk for everyone, and soy-based soft serve with assorted toppings for the younger crowd,” Joe says.

While the trio acknowledge the choice of dessert may not be the most extensive, it is by all means inclusive. “Our ethos is to bring friends and family together, and we want all our customers to feel we serve something they would enjoy,” Carmen adds.

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At Dáo, the tau fu fah experience is undoubtedly modernised in terms of setting and presentation, but the Lau siblings recognise the importance of keeping true to their roots. “Adding too many toppings or mixing too many flavour profiles may make the dessert lose its appeal, especially to the older generation, so this is something we don’t compromise on,” Carmen says. An exception is made during the festive season or special occasions, where they go all out in terms of creativity. 

For instance, in the case of Tatler Dining’s In the Mood for Food street food festival, the team conceptualised the Dáo-jak, a cross between rojak and Dáo’s classic soy soft serve. The soy-based ice cream was drizzled with sticky rojak sauce, before being finished with peanut and keropok for a refreshing sweet-savoury treat. 

“We draw inspiration everywhere we go,” Kelly chuckles. “During our first year of operations, we came up with the Dáo-lemak, tau fu fah with sambal and nasi lemak toppings, and Dáo-rian, which was served with durian paste.” The siblings chuckle, remembering the occasion, and it is clear how much they enjoy working together.

Touching on the subject, Carmen tells me that working together has definitely brought them closer as a family. “We never felt pressured into working together for the sake of the business, rather it was something we wanted to build up together,” she says.

Furthermore, when it comes to operations, they each play to individual strengths. “Our personalities are different, yet complementary,” she continues. “For instance, being more outgoing and outspoken, it was natural for me to take on the marketing side of the business.” 

With experience working with his father at Woong Kee Bean Curd, Joe had honed his attention to detail when it came to the craft, knowing the product inside and out. “This really assists the research and development process, as he can usually tell what works and what doesn’t from the get go,” Carmen adds. 

Kelly, who is now in charge of PR, was the last sibling to join the family business as she found the blurred lines between work and precious family time difficult to navigate.

“I first joined my siblings at Dáo in 2020, but left as I found it hard to cope since there would be no fixed timing when it came to work—Carmen and Joe would be talking about business over dinner,” Kelly laughs good-naturedly. “However, now I feel more than ready to be back,” she smiles.

When asked about the future of Dáo, Carmen is quick to answer: “We want to bring tau fu fah to an international platform where it is globally recognised as an iconic Malaysian dessert,” she says. “When people come to Malaysia, they want to try nasi lemak, satay, char kuey teow, or even cendol,” she says. “Why not tau fu fah?”

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