Labour of love: Bakery set to fire up ovens for last time

When Mr Tan Boon Chai shutters his 90-year-old bakery for the last time this month, the third-generation owner will step back from shouldering his family's legacy after 51 years.

But to the 71-year-old, Tan Hock Seng is more than just the Hokkien pastry business that his grandfather started in 1931, for it was at its original location in China Street that Mr Tan met his wife, Madam Yeo Ah Suei, more than five decades ago.

It was the late 1960s. Mr Tan was 19 and doing national service, while Madam Yeo was 16 and working part-time at the bakery for six months.

"Sparks flew," said Mr Tan in Mandarin during an interview last month at the shop's current location in Telok Ayer Street. "It was love at first sight."

"I didn't work for long but we kept in touch after," said Madam Yeo, 68, who added that the bakery had played cupid to many employees over the years. "People seemed fated to fall in love in the old shop (in China Street)."

They got married in 1980 after dating for 12 years and have gone through life's ups and downs together, outside and inside of the bakery. "Marriage requires both to be committed and patient," said Madam Yeo.

Committed and patient are the same words that one would use to describe Mr Tan's dedication to his craft, which he began picking up in earnest at the age of 20.

Since then, he has worked for five decades, taking a break of only a day or two every year during Chinese New Year. "Others have time to go abroad during public holidays, but not me," said Mr Tan.

He has documented his craft in a personal recipe book, but said: "You learn how to bake by doing, not reading."

For example, the knowledge of which flours absorb more water than others and how long to keep the pastries in the oven is acquired on the job, he said.

When The Straits Times was there on a Tuesday last month, a snaking queue had formed outside his bakery by 11am, when the first batch of piping hot beh teh saw (malt-filled pastries) emerged from the oven.

Some of the other hot favourites from the bakery included freshly baked tau sar piah (mung bean pastry) and lao po bing (winter melon pastry), which are no longer on sale.

The queues began in late September after a customer posted on social media that the bakery was closing, said Madam Yeo.

One of those in the queue, when ST was there, was Mr Peter Tan, an 80-year-old retiree who grew up eating pastries his parents bought from the bakery.

"I myself have been purchasing pastries from the shop for about 40 to 50 years," he said. "I can still buy tau sar piah in Balestier, but they won't be the same. I'm used to the taste of those here."

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has affected business, Mr Tan Boon Chai said it was not the reason for the shop's closure.

The lease was coming to an end and age was catching up with him and his 15 long-time employees, he said. Most of them have retired.

"Even if I continue, it will be for only a few more years. Sooner or later I'll have to stop, given my age," he said.

Mr Tan is not ruling out restarting the business after a break, especially if his three children, aged 35 to 40, are keen on helping him with it.

One son is a pilot while the other works in a bank. His daughter works in a bookstore chain.

A potential buyer is waiting in the wings, he said, and Madam Yeo added that selling their pastries online was an option.

"Even if I sell the shop, the buyer will have to retain the name Tan Hock Seng," said Mr Tan. He added that he would mentor the buyer, imparting skills to bake the more than 50 varieties of pastries in his repertoire.

Mr Tan estimates that the brand and recipes are worth $1 million, but is open to negotiation.

The shop's lease ends on Nov 30, and Mr Tan's ovens will likely be fired up one last time at the end of this week.

But it seems he will not be out of the kitchen for long.

A handwritten sign in the shop at the cashier's counter says he will be selling kueh bangkit, love letters and green bean cookies for the coming Chinese New Year. Details of the sale will be put up on Tan Hock Seng's Instagram page, managed by a family member.

Said Mr Tan: "I may be retiring, but baking for the festive season is tradition, it's part of me."