Made with Passion: Preserving the flavours of the past, for future generations to enjoy
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Made with Passion: Preserving the flavours of the past, for future generations to enjoy
Homegrown baker chains Bengawan Solo and Old Seng Choong are serving upwards sweetness treats with a side of nostalgia and a modernistic twist.
Brought to you by Singapore Brand Office.
The colourful lapis sagu remains ane of Bengawan Solo's all-time bestsellers. Photo: Bengawan Solo
Throughout Singapore, the buttery sugariness aroma emanating from bakeries has lured many a client into buying cookies, cakes or nyonya kueh every bit an indulgent tea-time treat. Merely when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, walk-in customer traffic took a hit while restrictions on international travel meant that tourists were no longer snapping up edible Singaporean souvenirs.
Despite the challenges, bakery chains Bengawan Solo and Old Seng Choong kept their passion for Singaporean baked goods and kueh going strong. To help local residents rediscover beloved traditional flavours, they continued using premium ingredients and brainstormed creative recipes and packaging to go on things fresh for the Instagram crowd.
HANDMADE FOR THE Best IN Gustation, TEXTURE, FRESHNESS
Household name Bengawan Solo is a familiar presence in malls all over the island, and customers often drop by their outlets to selection from the colourful array of nyonya kueh and traditional cakes. Popular choices include the pandan chiffon cake, lapis sagu – also known as the kueh with rainbow layers – and ondeh ondeh, light-green-hued rice flour balls with a sweet gula melaka filling.
"We have always used merely the freshest and virtually premium natural ingredients," said Bengawan Solo's founder Anastasia Liew. "We utilize coconut milk squeezed from fresh coconuts in our central kitchen right before use, and fresh pandan juice made with whole pandan leaves."
She added that the jam for Bengawan Solo's signature pineapple tarts is fabricated in-firm with fresh honey pineapples, while each layer of its rich kueh lapis is handmade with the chain's ain spice blend.
Said Mrs Liew: "Even though nosotros take stores islandwide, most of our kueh and cakes are still handmade in small batches to ensure the best quality in gustatory modality, texture and freshness."
Having a large physical presence, yet, also meant that Bengawan Solo suffered a desperate drop in client traffic at the kickoff of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, Bengawan Solo fabricated more than of its products available online and came upwards with new recipes to tempt novelty-seeking foodies, hopping on the chiffon block tendency with gula melaka, mango and pulut hitam flavours. While business at the drome and Fundamental Business District outlets remains affected, outlets in suburban malls eventually saw an increment in sales, presumably as more than people worked from home.
Mrs Liew hopes that as vaccines are rolled out, air travel will resume in the near time to come, bringing tourists who crave a sense of taste of Singaporean desserts. In the meantime, she is keeping the flame of the Bengawan Solo legacy alight with her continuing commitment to quality and taste.
Said Mrs Liew: "What keeps us going? When customers tell usa how much they savor our products, when they thank us for giving them something they are happy to give as gifts – something that's uniquely and authentically local."
JOURNEY TO THE EAST
French-trained pastry chef Daniel Tay founded Onetime Seng Choong (OSC) after noticing that many of the food products meant for tourists to take habitation were sauces, which had to be cooked. He wanted to discover a hassle-gratuitous way to promote delicious local cuisine to tourists.
"I came up with cookies that accept local tastes like laksa and bak kut teh, so tourists can bring them back home to give friends and relatives," said Mr Tay.
OSC'southward Asian-influenced bakes enjoyed a roaring business concern until the appearance of COVID-19 coincided with the opening of its tertiary outlet at Changi Airdrome, which was open for only 10 days earlier shutting downward.
The indefatigable Mr Tay turned to Facebook Live to sell his appurtenances, thinking that it would at least bring in a small corporeality of cash. The natural showman was a big hit, and he drew in more and more viewers every calendar week, much to his surprise. In improver to making plenty sales to keep his OSC outlets going, his Facebook Live events have also connected OSC with other businesses for corporate gifting opportunities.
Office of Mr Tay'south entreatment comes from his genuine passion for rediscovering heritage businesses and goods. During Chinese New Year, OSC started to sell pen cai, a traditional dish crammed full of premium ingredients like sea cucumber and abalone.
Instead of outsourcing the making of the pen cai, Mr Tay hunted effectually until he discovered an onetime-school ingredient supplier in Serangoon.
"The owner is 84 years old and the store only sells sea cucumber and other smaller things," he said. "Her daughter-in-police force taught us how to soak the ocean cucumber. As a fifty-yr-old, I desire to proceed working on traditional recipes and conserving their value."
Mr Tay's willingness to become the extra mile extends to all of OSC's products, such every bit his personal favourite, the yuzu pineapple tarts created just for Chinese New year.
"Whenever my staff were packing the pineapple tarts, I would sneak into the room and take one," he confessed. "When you eat our tarts, the layering of flavours is very important. You have the pastry, our house-made pineapple jam, and a surprise – the yuzu! We buy existent yuzu zest and nosotros don't employ colourings or fake flavourings, simply 100 per cent butter and Japanese flour. Information technology's non cheap, but when you lot practise it correctly, information technology's worth it."
The contempo resurgence of interest in traditional delicacies like pandan chiffon cakes and bak kwa has delighted Mr Tay. "Nosotros are always looking to the West for inspiration, simply slowly we are seeking more Asian flavours. I hope we can create more products in the futurity that are Singaporean and Southeast Asian in gustation, and and then it's our turn to start influencing the W!"
MADE WITH PASSION
Forty-8 local brands including Bengawan Solo and Old Seng Choong are part of Fabricated With Passion, a national initiative to recognise proficient homegrown lifestyle brands. Information technology'south at present easier than ever to support local every bit these brands showcase the Made With Passion label on their packaging.
Launched in November concluding year in a collaboration between the Singapore Brand Office and the Singapore Tourism Board, Fabricated with Passion is besides supported by Enterprise Singapore. On top of raising consumer sensation and appreciation for local lifestyle brands, the initiative hopes to encourage other make owners and Singaporeans to pursue their own dreams.
Discover even more of Singapore'due south local lifestyle brands and be inspired by their stories at visitsingapore.com/madewithpassion or on Facebook and Instagram @madewithpassionsg.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/advertorial/made-passion-preserving-flavours-past-future-generations-enjoy-179021
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