It all started in 1978, after a surprise home visit by an environment inspector.

Told to get a proper licence and shop instead of selling her butter and chiffon cakes and kueh lapis from her Marine Terrace flat, Mrs Anastasia Liew went on to open her first store in Marine Parade a year later - naming it Bengawan Solo.

Mrs Liew, 72, who was born in Indonesia, recalled the incident yesterday as Bengawan Solo commemorated its 40th anniversary at the Shangri-La Hotel.

She also made a special mention of former Straits Times deputy editor Alan John, who was present at the celebration, for writing an article in 1981 about the bakery's cakes and kueh.

"His article in The Straits Times kick-started our expansion and Bengawan Solo started to grow," said Mrs Liew, who is now the managing director.

The home-grown bakery, which has more than 40 outlets around Singapore, also took the opportunity to donate $100,000 to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF).

"We have always believed in the STSPMF and its cause, helping children and students in need, and that a good education is the way to a better future," said Mrs Liew.

Bengawan Solo also donated a total of $300,000 to six other organisations - $100,000 each to the Loving Heart Multi-Service Centre and the Bukit Batok Community Development Welfare Fund; $50,000 to the Ong Chit Chung Memorial Scholarship Fund; $20,000 each to the Down Syndrome Association Singapore, and the Concern and Care Society; and $10,000 to the Gunong Sayang Association.

Said Mrs Liew: "We are very happy to be giving back to the community through these contributions."

The STSPMF was set up in 2000 by The Straits Times as a community project to provide pocket money for low-income children.

It has disbursed over $68 million to more than 170,000 children to date, helping to fund school-related essentials, such as meals during recess.