Front row, from left: pickled 'petai', pickled papaya and 'kedondong'-based 'sambal ambra' (Photo: Low Yen Yeing/ The Edge)
If you have been keeping an eye on the hottest food trends of the last five years or so, odds are you will have noticed the uptick in preserved and fermented items on supermarket shelves and fine dining menus. Products like funky kombucha and designer tinned fish are transforming age-old methods of conservation into innovative exercises in flavour. Medic-turned-chef Allan Yeo’s medium of choice? The piquant, crunchy, aromatic world of pickling.
“I had always wanted to fulfil my childhood dream of working in F&B. After retirement I thought, ‘Why not get a little place just to pass the time?’” Initially contemplating a hawker stall (much to the disapproval of his children), he instead found inspiration for his side gig in a side dish. “When our friends would come over for a meal, I’d make pickles to go with it. They told me, ‘Uncle, these can surely sell!’ That’s how this project came about.”
Allan and his daughter Audrie founded artisanal label Pick A Pickle in 2022 as a casual home project to realise the father’s long-dormant life goal. “A few years in, this pastime has turned into a serious thing!” he chuckles.
The brand has since grown into a substantial operation that churns out over 1,000 jars of preserved and fermented goods a month. Its most popular products include pickled vegetables — chayote, garlic and even papaya — as well as sambal and fried salted radish. Their lilac-lidded bottles and embroidered signage are a common sight at pop-up markets around town or select grocery stores like Qra, Lex’s Patio Pantry and Kuching’s The Gourmand.
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Growing up in Pekan, Pahang, Allan was regularly tasked with helping out his mum in the kitchen, while dad ran a sundry shop in the kampung. To reduce waste, unsold vegetables would be brought home and pickled the old-school Teochew way. “I learnt by helping her. From there, I developed my interest in food, and I inherited a lot of those skills from my mother.”
“[Pekan] is predominantly Malay, and that influenced the family’s food culture,” says Audrie. “Growing up in Pahang, I really love our East Coast eats, and for that, I thank my dad and aunties. They were surrounded by that community, and adapted those flavours into their daily cooking.” Her childhood favourites came with a touch of fusion: suan cai yu that used jeruk maman and ikan kerisi, slivers of meat stir-fried with daun sup and cili padi, and papaya soup spiked with anchovies and asam keping.
But interest was not enough to justify a culinary career back then, although Audrie insists her father’s sophisticated palate would have taken him far. “I spent my whole professional life in the medical field. I started as an assistant, then majored in occupational safety and health,” says Allan. He later transitioned to the oil and gas sector, and was posted to an offshore rig in Terengganu, where he handled food hygiene and nutrition. Trading recipes with the crew and taking part-time jobs at restaurants scratched the itch, but the longing for a spot to call his own lingered until Pick A Pickle took root.
“We started out in an apartment making small batches, and if there was an invitation to a pop-up, we’d join. But we got more requests for re-purchases, and I decided to stop taking freelance work and commit to this,” says Audrie, who worked in film for 15 years and has become pretty good at laying on the charm with new customers.
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The turning point came in 2024, when all the positive feedback encouraged them to double down. “We sent the products for nutritional studies and began getting consignment opportunities with a few stores,” she says. Her mother was not a fan of the home becoming a warehouse, so the “central kitchen” moved into the bottom floor of the two-storey house.
Expanding production has called for a few practical investments, like a commercial slicer or mixers for stirring sambal, but 70% of the process is still done by hand. This ensures Pick A Pickle can meet its order volume while retaining high standards and a personal touch, but admittedly also limits their equipment capacity. “If we move to a proper site, I can source things like jars directly. That’s our target,” says Allan. Acquiring an industrial-size lot and attaining more certifications will mean greater output, bigger demographic and a better shot at penetrating international markets.
Whereas historical Teochew techniques rely on sodium for preservation, Allan has foregone the utilitarian ways in the interest of health. “I use our fridge as the preservative, since everyone has one, and reduce the salt content by 90%.” The results are not only better for you, but leave far more room to experiment with complementary ingredients. Pickled bittergourd, for example, is marinated with thyme, lemon and goji berries to create zesty strips with plenty of bite and none of the harshness.
Even though Pick A Pickle departs from the older methods, Allan still chooses to engage with nostalgia and heritage on his own terms. Jeruk kedondong is a fading treat he is working to revive among the younger generation. He has even pioneered a version of sambal hitam Pahang that swaps belimbing bulu for kedondong, so it can be enjoyed by those with kidney issues. Most of Pick A Pickle’s creations are also vegetarian and vegan friendly.
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“What’s interesting now is we actually have a fan club,” he grins. The duo easily rattle off half a dozen anecdotes about their most die-hard patrons: regulars who order 10 jars of garlic at a time, Singaporean visitors going to great lengths to time their deliveries with business trips, or even forlorn foreign customers desperate for a shipment of fried salted radish to Hong Kong or the US.
“It’s a promising sign that our product can work abroad, although we currently cannot ship internationally. We’re talking seriously about becoming sustainable, consigning nationwide and even doing exports,” says Audrie.
On the brand’s Instagram, the two share creative ways to enjoy its wares, ranging from easy-to-assemble sauces to full-on dishes. Pick A Pickle frequently participates in collaborations with local shops, such as Anna Donna bakery where Fiery Fried Radish is coddled in a buttery shio pan, as well as special events like highball pairings or porridge parties. The preserves are also set to appear in an upcoming ulam tasting with Eats, Shoots & Roots.
“We’re constantly testing out new combinations, a lot of which come from customers. One of them swears pickled petai with natto is a match made in heaven!” says Audrie. Seasonal offerings, like okra and zucchini, keep the selection fresh and exciting year-round.
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So after a long day of pickle prep, does Allan still pick up his wok when he gets home? “Now, cooking is a luxury!” he laughs. But when time allows, the children get to put in their orders (ikan sumbat is Audrie’s pick) and dad can take his time whipping up a hearty meal.
“Food really is our love language,” she affirms. “My dad and his siblings can spend the entire day chatting about what to eat and where to get it.” Even as the business flourishes and the Yeos entertain greater prospects, every hand-made jar remains a humble reminder of how each generation turned nutrition and survival into affection and ambition.
This article first appeared on Sept 14, 2026 in The Edge Malaysia.
