Mention good, affordable eats in Toa Payoh, and the S$1 nasi lemak from Muslim food stall Kedai Makan Muhajirin at Lorong 7, probably comes to mind. But did you know that just a few doors from the kopitiam is another budget gem: Omzyn Cake Confectionery?
The traditional bakery sells old-school buns at just S$1 for a pack of two to four rolls – a steal given today’s rising costs. It’s run by 73-year-old baker Ah Poh, who has been selling his buns at the same price for more than two decades.
Despite operating at the current premises for 16 years, the bakery, which is decked out with a hodgepodge of garish wrapping paper and tablecloth, is one of the best-kept secrets in Toa Payoh. Its customers are mostly regulars living in the area and even our friends who frequent the hawker centre nearby didn’t know of its existence.
Some of the items sold at the bakery. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
Honestly, we’re not surprised as the bakery is shut most of the day. Ah Poh only opens shop for four hours, from 4am to 8am, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends.
“I’m old, I get aches and pains if I work daily. I want to retire, but I can’t bear to shut the business. I’m also afraid I’d be bored if I don’t work, so I just do this for fun,” the jovial Ah Poh told 8days.sg. He has three sons, aged 40 to 50, but lives alone.
Ah Poh, the owner of Omzyn Cake Confectionery. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
RELUCTANT TO RAISE PRICES
“This is why I don’t make a lot of bread and I sell it cheap. I just need to make enough money to cover ingredient costs and rent,” he said. Rental for the shophouse, inclusive of the flat upstairs, is around S$3,000.
Though customers have urged him to raise prices, Ah Poh is reluctant.
“There are a lot of elderly folks living in the neighbourhood and some are really struggling. They can’t afford to even pay S$1. This is the reality. Sometimes, I just accept a few cents from them or give them bread for free,” he shared.
Newspaper clipping of Ah Poh’s old bakery in Thomson. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
FANN WONG AND CHRISTOPHER LEE USED TO BE REGULARS AT HIS THOMSON BAKERY
The bakery sells around 20 varieties of old-school buns with fillings like coconut, curry potato, red bean and hae bee hiam, all baked fresh by Ah Poh. He has been plying the trade for more than six decades, first as an apprentice before starting his own business 30 years ago. He continues to churn out bread the traditional way, without preservatives and in a deck oven.
If you’re wondering why this old-school bakery has such a non-traditional name, that’s because the signboard belongs to the previous tenant. “I was told by the landlord that I couldn’t change it so I used the one from the previous bakery,” explained Ah Poh. His shop is not related to the Omzyn Cake outlets in Bukit Merah and Bukit Batok.
Before this, Ah Poh ran Singapura Bakery at Upper Thomson Road for six years. He relocated to Toa Payoh in 2008 when the landlord wanted the space back. “Mediacorp used to film drama shows at my bakery. The late Huang Wenyong, Christopher Lee, and Fann Wong used to frequent my shop and we would bake fresh buns for them,” he recalled.
HE’S A ONE-MAN SHOW
Ah Poh, who lives in the HDB flat above the bakery, starts his day at midnight, baking at the store before opening at 4am. He single-handedly churns out more than 1,000 buns. He sometimes leaves the store unmanned when he’s busy in the kitchen and customers just leave their money on the table.
When we dropped by before 7am on a weekday, the shop was surrounded by customers and more than half of the day’s offerings had already been snapped up.
We promptly grabbed a few packs of buns. By 7.30am, all the buns were sold out, disappointing several customers who came after that.
Why not open later in the day instead so he can sleep in and more people can buy his bakes? “Old already, cannot sleep,” Ah Poh replied with a laugh. He’s also used to working overnight as a baker, having been doing this for decades.
“When I sell out, I will quickly close shop, then go have a coffee and chat with my neighbour before going home to take a nap," he quipped.
Coconut Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
The popular coconut bun was sold out when we visited the store, but we got to try it thanks to a sweet customer who gave us a roll from her stash. This is no mini roll, but a palm-sized bun. The soft fluffy bread is loaded with grated coconut and brown sugar filling, which is mildly sweet and pleasantly moist. We were also impressed with the generous filling.
Curry Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
Of all the buns we tried, we liked this curry one best. The hand-sized bun is stuffed with tender diced potato, coated with flavourful and slightly sweet curry.
Hotdog Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
The hotdog bun is just as good. Nothing fancy, just a chicken frank wrapped in a bun, but very nostalgic.
White Lotus Bun, S$1 for four. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
For S$1, you get four white lotus buns, each around the size of a square white dinner roll. We normally find such buns cloying, but this is not overly sweet. Not bad.
Besides buns, Ah Poh also sells kueh bahulu (S$2 for 14, S$5 for 42). These mini sponge cakes are fluffy and eggy, but the crust is not as crisp as we’d like.
Omzyn Cake Confectionery is at 20 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, #01-746, Singapore 310020. Open Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun, 4am to 8am (or till sold out).
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...
The traditional bakery sells old-school buns at just S$1 for a pack of two to four rolls – a steal given today’s rising costs. It’s run by 73-year-old baker Ah Poh, who has been selling his buns at the same price for more than two decades.
Despite operating at the current premises for 16 years, the bakery, which is decked out with a hodgepodge of garish wrapping paper and tablecloth, is one of the best-kept secrets in Toa Payoh. Its customers are mostly regulars living in the area and even our friends who frequent the hawker centre nearby didn’t know of its existence.
Some of the items sold at the bakery. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
Honestly, we’re not surprised as the bakery is shut most of the day. Ah Poh only opens shop for four hours, from 4am to 8am, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends.
“I’m old, I get aches and pains if I work daily. I want to retire, but I can’t bear to shut the business. I’m also afraid I’d be bored if I don’t work, so I just do this for fun,” the jovial Ah Poh told 8days.sg. He has three sons, aged 40 to 50, but lives alone.
Ah Poh, the owner of Omzyn Cake Confectionery. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
RELUCTANT TO RAISE PRICES
“This is why I don’t make a lot of bread and I sell it cheap. I just need to make enough money to cover ingredient costs and rent,” he said. Rental for the shophouse, inclusive of the flat upstairs, is around S$3,000.
Though customers have urged him to raise prices, Ah Poh is reluctant.
“There are a lot of elderly folks living in the neighbourhood and some are really struggling. They can’t afford to even pay S$1. This is the reality. Sometimes, I just accept a few cents from them or give them bread for free,” he shared.
Newspaper clipping of Ah Poh’s old bakery in Thomson. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
FANN WONG AND CHRISTOPHER LEE USED TO BE REGULARS AT HIS THOMSON BAKERY
The bakery sells around 20 varieties of old-school buns with fillings like coconut, curry potato, red bean and hae bee hiam, all baked fresh by Ah Poh. He has been plying the trade for more than six decades, first as an apprentice before starting his own business 30 years ago. He continues to churn out bread the traditional way, without preservatives and in a deck oven.
If you’re wondering why this old-school bakery has such a non-traditional name, that’s because the signboard belongs to the previous tenant. “I was told by the landlord that I couldn’t change it so I used the one from the previous bakery,” explained Ah Poh. His shop is not related to the Omzyn Cake outlets in Bukit Merah and Bukit Batok.
Before this, Ah Poh ran Singapura Bakery at Upper Thomson Road for six years. He relocated to Toa Payoh in 2008 when the landlord wanted the space back. “Mediacorp used to film drama shows at my bakery. The late Huang Wenyong, Christopher Lee, and Fann Wong used to frequent my shop and we would bake fresh buns for them,” he recalled.
HE’S A ONE-MAN SHOW
Ah Poh, who lives in the HDB flat above the bakery, starts his day at midnight, baking at the store before opening at 4am. He single-handedly churns out more than 1,000 buns. He sometimes leaves the store unmanned when he’s busy in the kitchen and customers just leave their money on the table.
When we dropped by before 7am on a weekday, the shop was surrounded by customers and more than half of the day’s offerings had already been snapped up.
We promptly grabbed a few packs of buns. By 7.30am, all the buns were sold out, disappointing several customers who came after that.
Why not open later in the day instead so he can sleep in and more people can buy his bakes? “Old already, cannot sleep,” Ah Poh replied with a laugh. He’s also used to working overnight as a baker, having been doing this for decades.
“When I sell out, I will quickly close shop, then go have a coffee and chat with my neighbour before going home to take a nap," he quipped.
Coconut Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
The popular coconut bun was sold out when we visited the store, but we got to try it thanks to a sweet customer who gave us a roll from her stash. This is no mini roll, but a palm-sized bun. The soft fluffy bread is loaded with grated coconut and brown sugar filling, which is mildly sweet and pleasantly moist. We were also impressed with the generous filling.
Curry Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
Of all the buns we tried, we liked this curry one best. The hand-sized bun is stuffed with tender diced potato, coated with flavourful and slightly sweet curry.
Hotdog Bun, S$1 for two. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
The hotdog bun is just as good. Nothing fancy, just a chicken frank wrapped in a bun, but very nostalgic.
White Lotus Bun, S$1 for four. (Photo: 8Days/Pyron Tan)
For S$1, you get four white lotus buns, each around the size of a square white dinner roll. We normally find such buns cloying, but this is not overly sweet. Not bad.
Besides buns, Ah Poh also sells kueh bahulu (S$2 for 14, S$5 for 42). These mini sponge cakes are fluffy and eggy, but the crust is not as crisp as we’d like.
Omzyn Cake Confectionery is at 20 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, #01-746, Singapore 310020. Open Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun, 4am to 8am (or till sold out).
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...