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

Remarks by DSJ at 61st session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, today (March 18, Geneva time) finished attending the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Joining him for the meeting were representatives of the Department of Justice, the Security Bureau and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. Officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attended the meeting as members of the Chinese delegation.

Following are the remarks by Dr Cheung at the session.

Agenda item 4 general debate on human rights situations that require the Council's attention

Mr President,

The implementation of the National Security Law has successfully safeguarded national sovereignty and security, and ensured long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, China.

It is every sovereign state's inherent right to enact national security laws. China is no exception. For example, the United Kingdom has at least 14 pieces of national security legislation, including the sweeping National Security Act of 2023.It is hypocritical of any country to demand another country to repeal its own national security law and leave it defenseless.

Jimmy Lai's case was mentioned yesterday. I am obliged to point out that he was defended by a team of lawyers of his own choice and received a fair trial for his offences endangering national security. The court's verdict and sentence were published with detailed reasons, for which he chose not to appeal. Lai has received appropriate treatment in custody and never made any complaint. Any suggestion that certain individuals should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law.

All in all, we oppose the biased allegations concerning Hong Kong's situation, which have ignored the objective facts demonstrating our remarkable achievements.

Mr President, let me share with you some figures. Last year, Hong Kong was ranked the world's freest economy, No.1 in global IPO(initial public offering) market rankings, and No.1 as Asia's largest hedge fund hub and cross-boundary wealth management centre.

The common law system of Hong Kong is internationally renowned. Hong Kong was ranked the second-most preferred seat of arbitration worldwide last year. The Judiciary exercises judicial power independently, fairly, impartially and openly. Judgments of the Court of Final Appeal were cited as persuasive authorities in overseas common law jurisdictions on close to 50 occasions in the past six years.

These are testaments to the trust and confidence that businesses and people have in the freedom, stability and the rule of law of Hong Kong.

We will continue to safeguard national security and protect legitimate rights and interests of all individuals. Thank you, Mr President.

Agenda item 5 general debate on human rights bodies and mechanism

Mr Vice-President,

China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is committed to engaging in constructive dialogue and co-operation on human rights issues within the UN framework on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

The human rights of Hong Kong residents are constitutionally guaranteed and protected under the National Security Law. The provisions of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) as applied to Hong Kong are incorporated in local law.

Human rights protection is further underpinned by the rule of law and the Judiciary which acts impartially and independently.

Since the enactment of the National Security Law over fiveyears ago, prosecutions for national security offences constituted less than 0.2 per cent of all criminal proceedings.

We note that the representative of the Netherlands mentioned Chow Hang-tung's case. We urge member states to respect the rule of law and refrain from interfering with on-going legal proceedings in Hong Kong's court.

We are firmly committed as ever to the protection of human rights and always seek to make improvements based on actual circumstances. Thank you.

Remarks by DSJ at 61st session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases