Bastille's Story: Cakes From a Bank? The Pandan Cake Craze Sparked by Old Seng Choong

Singapore's classic bakery brand, Old Seng Choong, has opened its first overseas branch in Central. The new store is a joint venture between Old Seng Choong and OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, blending the concepts of "banking × retail". In the Bastille Post's interview, Mr. Daniel Tay, the founder of Old Seng Choong, stated that the collaboration is a globally original cross-industry collaboration attempt—opening a bakery within a bank. "Who would buy a cake in a bank?" Mr. Tay admitted that achieving this "world first" attempt required courage and determination from both sides.

Mr. Daniel Tay, the founder of Old Seng Choong, Photo by Bastille Post

When asked why Hong Kong was chosen as Old Seng Choong's first overseas expansion, Mr. Tay said, "It wasn't me choosing Hong Kong, but Hong Kong choosing me." He pointed out that Hong Kong people have a great passion for pandan cake, making the brand decide to provide the product here and "meet the needs of Hong Kong people". Mr. Tay also mentioned that the key to the collaboration with OCBC Bank is that OCBC values ​​the high-quality pandan cake offered by the Singaporean brand, with the decisive factor being the product's "portability". Mr. Tay stated that both sides agreed to the cooperation terms and considered the decision fair, thus leading to the establishment of the Hong Kong branch.

The two star products of Old Seng Choong: The left is the mille crêpes cake, while the right is the pandan cake. Photo by Bastille Post

Facing the uncertainties in Hong Kong's economy, Mr. Tay stated that the store is consistently sold out every day, and he observes strong sales volume based on the continued willingness of Hong Kong residents to consume and shop. During the interview, the store was crowded with customers selecting cakes and cookies with long queues outside, while the other signature product, the mille crêpes cake, had already sold out.

Holding strong confidence in the Hong Kong market, Mr. Tay stated that he would continue to actively bring in and develop Singaporean-flavored products popular with Hong Kong residents. He anticipated opening branches in Hong Kong in the future, possibly a standalone street-front shop, focusing on pandan as its core product, such as pandan egg tarts, pandan cheesecake, and "any kinds of bakeries related to pandan". He also mentioned that durian and kaya will be the flavors of the next key products to promote to Hong Kong residents. Noting the requests from Hong Kong netizens for a low-sugar version of pandan cake, Mr. Tay said that his colleagues have already produced one, awaiting his return to the hotel for tasting and decision.

Holding strong confidence in the Hong Kong market, Mr. Tay stated that he would continue to actively bring in and develop Singaporean-flavored products popular with Hong Kong residents. Photo by Bastille Post

Old Seng Choong was originally founded in 1965 as "Seng Choong Confectionery", specializing in traditional handmade pastries. In 2015, Mr. Tay took over the shop from his father and re-registered it as "Old Seng Choong", focusing on cakes, festive pastries, and cookies, etc. Old Seng Choong not only infuses traditional pastries with creativity, but also releases creative packaging, such as using retro tin can packaging featuring elements of Singapore's history and culture to create a characteristic Singaporean souvenir. Besides, Old Seng Choong launched its pandan cake, made with freshly extracted pandan leaf juice, Japanese flour, rich coconut milk, and Malacca coconut sugar, by adopting its unique baking technique. The pandan cakes contain no artificial colors or preservatives, fully bringing out the flavour and aroma of coconut sugar, creating rich textures for enjoyment.

Regarding the reason for changing the name from "Seng Choong Confectionery" to "Old Seng Choong", Mr. Tay stated that "Old Seng Choong" sounds more international and would be easier for branding. Taking over the business from his father was no easy feat, and making it a bustling success was even more challenging. Tracing back to the factors of success, Mr. Tay stated that it was his father's guidance that allowed him to discover his talent for baking. "Indeed, he paved a way for me, letting me discover my natural gift in baking."

The store of Old Seng Choong in Central, Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post

Old Seng Choong
Address: 35 QRC, 35 Queen's Road Central, Central (inside OCBC Bank)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9 am-7 pm, Saturday 9 am-6 pm

LegCo releases short video explaining new rules of allowing dogs in food premises

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

The Legislative Council (LegCo) today (May 7) took note of the report on Food Business (Amendment) Regulation 2026 and expressed its support for the Government to relax the ban on dogs entering food premises - a restriction that has been in place for over 30 years.

A spokesman for LegCo said, "To facilitate the public better understand the new regulations, the LegCo Secretariat has launched a new initiative by producing its first concise and short film. It aims to explain the regulation to the public in an easy-to-understand and down-to-earth manner. The video focuses on key enforcement points and highlights some common scenarios where violations may easily occur. This would help citizens in adhering to the law, while also promoting and creating an ideal pet-friendly environment. By spending about two minutes on the video, citizens will be able to grasp the key aspects of the new measure."

Members of the public are welcome to watch the video on LegCo Website: https://www.legco.gov.hk/en/photogallery/player.html?album=video&term=2026&id=415

The LegCo's spokesman added, "LegCo Members have always upheld the 'people-oriented' principle and are concerned about all matters related to people's livelihoods. The deliberations in LegCo are closely connected with people's daily lives. This new initiative of releasing promotional videos reflects the inseparable linkage between the work of LegCo and public communication. LegCo will continue to release new videos from time to time, facilitating the public to learn about various policies or ordinances easily."

Source: AI-found images