Ng Kim Lee Confectionery: $0.70 muffins & more at 70 year-old traditional bakery
There are two things that have grown up closely with me. Number #1, my brother. Number #2, these muffins.
If you are living in the Beauty World area, the fabled Ng Kim Lee Confectionery at Chun Tin Road shouldn’t be unfamiliar to you. Founded in 1954, the store has been a pioneer in confectioneries and more for a whopping 70 years. The impressive thing is, it hasn’t relocated at all.
Renowned for their crazily affordable Muffins which are all priced at S$0.70, the family-run confectionery also sells traditional Teochew and Peranakan pastries, and more at wallet-friendly prices.
Having lived in Bukit Timah for the majority of my lifetime, I needed no second confirmation of where the archaic store was.
Firmly rooted on patterned tile flooring, the store proudly sports a 金子招牌 (golden signage) coupled with two gold lions and a set of blue Bostwick gates with intricate detailing. For those with a weakness for all things sweet and salty, time to meet your biggest enemy.
Its brightly-lit interior has shelves upon shelves of old-school bakes, snacks and pastries — think Kuih Piring (S$2), Honey Kueh Bahulu (S$3.50), White Sesame Candy (S$5) and Sun Cake (太阳饼)(S$6). And of course, a colourful array of their signature bite-sized Muffins (S$0.70) in 12 flavours. I’d spend hours in this store if I could…
What I tried at Ng Kim Lee Confectionery
After minutes of self-debating on what I should add to my already overflowing tray of muffins, I settled on a Black Forest Mousse Cake (S$3), a Yam Mousse Cake (S$3), Traditional Salty Bean Pastry (豆沙饼) (S$1.60), Honey Chicken Siew Bao (S$1.60), Chicken Pie (S$2) and muffins in the following flavours: Blueberry, Cheese, Chocolate, Lemon, Oreo, Pandan, Strawberry. Good things must share with the fam! Heh.
Worried that my hefty haul had lost its original quality, I dug in right away once I got home.
Okok, let’s start off with the Mousse Cakes. These are the softest cakes I have ever come across. Without much pressure, my fork went through the spongy texture in one swift cut. And as foolish as this sounds — it did not just feel like a sponge but also tasted like one.
Sandwiched between layers of pure fluffiness, the chocolate cream was rich in flavour, but not as overpowering as I had expected. You know the dense chocolate-y taste when you eat a bar of chocolate? The Black Forest Mousse Cake was the complete opposite, in a good way. Although the cake also featured shaved chocolate atop light whipped cream, it wasn’t jelat at all.
My highlight of this cake is literally the cherry on top. Creating a harmonious combination once bitten, the juicy fruit was bursting with nectar that was beautifully infused with aromatic cocoa.
Sharing traits similar to the Black Forest Mousse Cake, the Yam Mousse Cake is an airy buttercream cake adorned with delicate lilac mousse. I actually thought there was zero depth to it but after multiple tastings, there was a subtle sweetness that shone through the no-frills sponge cake. Confession: This is unfortunately my first time trying yam, and it definitely won’t be my last.
Moving on to the baked goods, there’s no point leaving an old-school bakery without Tau Sar Piah. Popular around the 1970s to 1990s, the buttery golden-brown pastry has a shiny glaze with the word “咸 ” and thin crumbly layers that conceal the nutty mung bean paste within. I wouldn’t say that the paste had the smoothest consistency, but the Tau Sar Piah‘s shell was the one that tied everything together.
Meanwhile, Ng Kim Lee Confectionery has their Honey Chicken Siew Bao down to a tee. Sprinkled with sesame seeds, the pastry had multiple enveloping swirls that converged towards the centre and was filled with savoury BBQ pork that amazingly kept its moisture. I just wished that I had eaten it while it was hot!
How do you determine a good pastry? It’s the filling for me. For S$2, the Chicken Pie went beyond expectations. Choke-full of chunky potatoes and carrots, tender chicken and peas, this pie was generously packed into a massive flaky crust. I love how the varied textures of these ingredients cut through the viscosity of the pastry’s luscious cream. According to my father: “This is value for money.”
Keeping the best for the last, I won’t dwell much on every Muffin flavour that I’ve tried. But what I need to emphasise is that these muffins are freshly made! I legit saw the confectionery’s cheerful aunty replenishing a tray of Cheese Muffins at 7pm.
It was also natural for me to get them after Aunty told us that it was one of the popular flavours. The muffins tasted precisely the same as I remembered. Comforting but extremely addictive.
Exploding with cheesiness, the Cheese Muffin was a bit too decadent for me but I finished it anyway. As for the Lemon, Strawberry and Blueberry, it thankfully wasn’t as treacly as I thought. Narrowing down to Chocolate, Oreo and Pandan, while the Oreo had bits of chocolate that further accentuated the hint of vanilla, the Chocolate was velvety with notes similar to its cake counterpart.
This leaves Pandan, which comes in an iconic shade of green and has an underlying floral scent that points to its distinct aroma. Sweet and simple. From one sweet tooth to another, I think you know which one’s my favourite.
Fun fact. Unlike the conventional paper cups that easily stick to muffins and cupcakes, these muffins’ jagged aluminium foil cups are folded in a way that makes them easier to pull apart. Innovative anot?
Final Thoughts
I regret not swinging by more often.
Imagine enjoying a cup of kopi together with a side of flaky Tau Sar Piah or buttery Muffins! Breakfast will be something I’d look forward to every morning.
Behind the façade of traditional establishments, I wonder if there’s a constant need to be trendy and relatable to the younger generations in order to survive.
With Ng Kim Lee Confectionery not moving an inch for nearly a century, it’s safe to say that they have garnered a pool of loyal customers who will continue to visit their quaint confectionery, even for a while. It’s true.
During my visits to the store, it was common to see people of all ages roaming around the aisles and gazing upon their shelves of old-school bakes, snacks, pastries and memories.
In this modern era, can we ever choose to slow down?
Expected damage: S$0.70 to S$3 per pax
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