Take for instance Ruby Dessert House, a tiny Chinese eatery located along Jalan Kancil that, at first glance, seems like any other old-school establishment.

However, as you walk closer, you’ll detect a sweet scent in the air, a giveaway really of the delicious ‘tong sui’ desserts they make inside.

There is also an array of newspaper cuttings and photographs displayed on the walls, a testament to how well-known and well-loved this restaurant is to many.

On weekend nights, this eatery is teeming with customers who have come from far and wide to satisfy their sweet tooth.

For the uninitiated, tong sui literally means “sugar water” and refers to a sweet and warm Cantonese soup served as a dessert.

Here at Ruby’s, popular menu items include peanut paste, black sesame paste, almond paste, walnut paste and steamed egg custard.

In addition to being tasty, these treats are also a sight to behold as each dessert is creatively decorated with food art. Little wonder that social media influencers come in droves to snap photos of their cute desserts.

Cute desserts aside, Ruby’s also has a rich history, which its owner, Ricky Kan Kok Hoong is more than happy to share.

His family has long been involved in the business of making traditional Chinese desserts, with his great-grandfather, Kan Seng, opening his business in 1888.

Currently, the business is run by the fifth generation of the Kan family, with Ricky’s sons taking over their father’s place at the storefront.

However, being the patriarch of his family, Ricky still keeps an eye on daily operations.

“My great-grandfather actually started the business while the family was still in Guangzhou, China. When my father first came to Malaya, he decided to continue the business here,” said the 67-year-old.

Back then, Ruby’s only sold three kinds of desserts – black sesame paste, peanut paste and egg custard.

The dessert stall was also originally in Central Market, operating from 1927 with the help of Ricky’s older sisters.

Ricky said that for a time after the Second World War, his father closed the business due to a shortage of helpers when his daughters married and moved away to raise their families.

Being a filial son, when the stall eventually reopened, Ricky chose to assist his father and it was around this time in the 1970s that the business relocated to Pudu.

When Ricky’s father passed away in 1979, it was time for Ricky to helm the business, which he continues to do to this day.

The dessert art however, said Ricky, was a rather recent innovation and he is proud that it was his son’s idea.

“Each generation came up with their own idea for something special,” he said, explaining that the first dessert art design was a yin-yang symbol created using black sesame and almond milk.

Ricky said he felt much pride in acknowledging that Ruby is one of the oldest surviving establishments in KL. He is also elated that the business will continue to live on, with his offspring taking over the business just as he did his father’s.

“I let them decide what they wanted to work as. And they know that this business takes a lot of work,” said Ricky, pointing to the century-old grindstone that they still use for their desserts.

Work here is indeed hard as Ricky maintains strict quality control and will throw out hours of work if it does not meet his standards.

However, given that the stall has been visited by foreign dignitaries and television personalities, all the hard work has clearly been worth it.

“Hopefully my late parents ‘upstairs’ can look down and see that their legacy is still living on,” said Ricky, with a contented sigh.

Ruby Dessert House
32, Jalan Kancil
Off Jalan Landak
Pudu
55100 Kuala Lumpur

Business hours: 11am-11pm daily (closed on Tuesdays)