Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries is a popular family-run bakery
Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries is very much what you’d call an old-school hawker bakery. Rows of fresh bakes were lined on their display shelves—pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, tau sa pia, ondeh ondeh—you name it, they’ve got it.
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The setup left just a narrow path for the hawkers to move in and out of the kitchen.
At first, I noticed that the hawkers were an elderly couple—a common sight for stalls like these. But then, from behind the counter, a much younger pair emerged, both seemingly millennials, who we later discovered were their son and his wife. Two generations, old and young, working side by side to bring this humble bakery to life.
In an era where many seasoned hawkers have no one to carry on their legacy, this was a rare sight. When we paid a visit to Lim’s Fried Oyster in April, we were saddened to hear that the 60-year-old business will be shutting its doors come August 2025, not for lack of business, but because there’s no one left to take up the mantle. That was certainly not the case for Hung Huat.
And so, we decided to speak to the family behind the bakery to understand more about their unusual arrangement and what it’s really like to run a hawker stall as a family unit across generations.
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How the business began
As it turns out, the business has deeper roots than I realised: the young man and his wife are actually the third-generation owners of the business.
Image credit: Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries
Long before present-day Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries was set up at Sims Vista Market & Food Centre, Wei Jie’s grandfather was a pushcart hawker, selling traditional pastries on the streets. When the hawker centre officially opened to tenants in 1976, his grandfather was among the first to secure a stall. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that Wei Jie’s parents took over.
Two years ago, 34-year-olds Wei Jie and his wife, Amanda, joined the family’s old-school bakery, working alongside their parents, affectionately known as Aunty and Uncle Liau, who are now 64 and 67.
But for Wei Jie and Amanda, their path into the family business wasn’t as straightforward.
Unlike their predecessors, neither of them jumped into it from the get-go. Both pursued university degrees and had promising careers of their own, with Amanda in the social sector and Wei Jie in education—he was a secondary school discipline master. On paper, their trajectory couldn’t have been further from the world of flaky pastries and sticky ondeh ondeh.
And yet, Wei Jie felt that his career path was causing a rift between him and his parents.
“Even though I was doing pretty well as a teacher, I felt very detached (from my parents)”, he noted. “We were doing very different things. During peak season, I wasn’t able to come down and help them. Conversations-wise, it was also very difficult. They don’t understand my world.”
Realising that family mattered more to him than personal ambition, Wei Jie then decided to take over. However, he knew that this wasn’t something he could do alone.
“As his parents did it together, they also hoped for us to do it together”, Amanda shared, as she told me about how she left her job when Wei Jie asked her to join him in the business.
Learning that Wei Jie and Amanda had already been running the bakery for nearly two years, I couldn’t help but wonder: how had the journey been for them so far?
A steep learning curve
While many admire the way this family runs like a well-oiled machine, the truth is that it hasn’t always been smooth sailing—there was a steep learning curve and plenty of kitchen mishaps along the way.
“Of course, there were many failures when we first tried our hand at baking”, Amanda admitted, laughing as she recalled how Aunty Liau would chime in with her trademark refrain: “I already say cannot use this, cannot use that.”
But such disagreements have only strengthened their bond. Amanda explained that Wei Jie often goes to his mother for advice on new recipes.
Although many of the couple’s innovations have not made it past their mother’s approval, some have turned out to be successes. The Hokkaido Milk Mochi x Signature Teochew ($7), for example, is one such product.
As you can tell from its appearance, this is a decidedly modern creation. It features flaky, buttery pastry encasing a thick, stretchy mochi core, with sweet orh nee paste layered on the outside for a delightful touch of sweetness.
Another inventive treat is the Black Sesame Orh Huat Tart ($20 for four), which has a buttery crust loaded with chewy mochi and rich black sesame paste that oozes out with each bite.
These pastries aren’t from tried and tested recipes—they are the result of two generations coming together to innovate, while still honouring tradition.
Recipe experimentation aside, Wei Jie also shared about the resistance he faced when proposing changes to how old-school pastries were made. Especially during peak seasons when demand spikes, Mdm Liau will insist that pastries such as their Signature Pineapple Tarts ($19) must remain handmade to retain their buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture—even if it means higher costs.
But as Wei Jie explained, it’s never been about scaling up or cutting corners at the end of the day. “We’re not aiming to become a big corporation”, he shared. “As long as it sustains us, and as long as it keeps the family together.”
“As long as it keeps the family together.”
And I could see what Wei Jie was referring to in the way the family was able to communicate, even without words.
A gentle touch on the shoulder, a shared glance, and suddenly, someone would step in to take over a task. It was like they’ve been working together for decades.
Amanda continued to share that Aunty and Uncle Liau stay up with their children during peak seasons to help out with logistics and baking, among other tasks. “All these things we are thankful and grateful for. It is through them that I saw what true and unconditional love is.”
“It is through them that I saw what true and unconditional love is.”
Tastes like home
With Wei Jie and Amanda choosing to forgo more conventional career paths—opting instead to dedicate themselves full-time to the family business, they stand out as rare exceptions in a generation often drawn to white-collar jobs. That made me wonder: What does the future hold for Hung Huat? Can these two sustain the business for long?
Amanda had a cheeky answer. “Training in progress,” she said, referring to her two-year-old daughter, who loves eating the kueh that Aunty Liau makes.
What comes next for this bakery is uncertain. But one thing is clear: if their daughter is interested, Wei Jie and Amanda won’t stand in her way.
To bring our conversation to a close, I asked the couple to summarise in a line what continuing the family business means to them.
“It’s probably the most meaningful thing I’ve taken up”, Wei Jie said, once again, firmly and without hesitation. Amanda smiled at him, nodding in agreement.
For a story about a Chinese hawker who runs a popular Italian stall all using his own recipes, check out our II Piccolo Pizzeria feature. Alternatively, read about our Coffee House Banh Mi feature, featuring a 15-year-old “coffee prodigy” who helps out at his mother’s drink stall.
Address: Block 49 Sims Place, #01-48, Sims Vista Market & Food Centre, Singapore 380049
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 7am to 2:30pm
Tel: 9651 4902
Website
Hung Huat Cakes and Pastries is not a halal-certified eatery.
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Photos taken by Tan Tao Zhi.
This was an independent feature by Eatbook.sg.
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