The heavy cylindrical brass knob with smooth grooves, attached to an L-shaped metal bar, is used to prepare pastry shells for the Peranakan dish, ‘kueh pie tee’. To prepare the ‘kueh pie tee’, the knob is dipped into boiling oil and then into batter, and back into the oil for deep-frying. The ‘pie tee’ cases are then removed from the mould easily after it turns golden brown. The cup-shaped pastry shells, which resemble little top hats, are filled with cooked bamboo shoots and other fillings to be served as starters or canapés. The dish is otherwise known as ‘kueh pie tee’ in the local Malay dialect. The term ‘kueh’ refers to all kinds of cakes, snacks and sweet meats.
