Yes, we’re still featuring Chinese New Year here on yesterday.sg; even though the official public holiday (and extended weekend) is over, the full celebration lasts 15 days. In this feature, chinatownboy takes a look at a Hokkien institution in Chinatown, that of Tan Hock Seng and the cakes they produce for the new year.


Many people don’t have the time, or even the knowhow, to make the traditional cakes for Chinese New Year. chinatownboy remembers making one such cake in his youth:

For the Chinese New Year, the favourites would be the Huat Kueh and Kueh Nern Go 鸡蛋糕 (steamed egg cake like the famous Japanese Kyushu Castilla (kasutera カステラ). I remember when I was young, I would help my Mum to beat the eggs in a big clay pot (like those glazed flower pot) with the big egg beater until almost a foam was being formed. It was a tiring exercise. No, no electric gadgets during those days. When the egg mix was considered good enough, we would put a “glass paper” onto a bamboo tray and pour the egg mix into it till almost the brim. If I remember correctly, then with a bamboo chopstick, a cross is made on the surface, probably to allow the cake to break up and expand when it is being cooked.

Read more about New Year Cakes in his post, Hokkien pastry at Tan Hock Seng 陈福成