SINGAPORE – When BreadTalk Group founder and chairman George Quek decided to acquire traditional Teochew bakery Thye Moh Chan, his motivation was “half commercial, half sentimental”.

“My dad used to take me to the shop. It was a taste I had grown up with,” he told The Straits Times. “When I found out that it was closing, I decided to preserve it.”

The original Thye Moh Chan opened in Liang Seah Street in 1943, then moved to Lorong 27 Geylang. Known for its handcrafted Teochew baked goods, it attracted a strong following for its signature sweet and salty tau sar piah – a flaky pastry with mung bean filling.

The bakery shuttered in 2011, but the BreadTalk Group bought over the heritage brand in 2012. 

“It took me some effort to persuade the owners that I would grow the brand and protect its reputation,” said Mr Quek, who is a Teochew.

Today, Thye Moh Chan has outlets in Chinatown Point, Paragon, Jewel Changi and Nex, with a new one opening in Jurong Point in early 2024. The nostalgic flavours of the pastries are still made largely with time-honoured techniques, while their modern packaging features elements of Teochew heritage, such as Teochew opera.

Thye Moh Chan celebrates its 80th anniversary in October. From Oct 23 to 29, it will sell comforting treats like Teochew bak chang (rice dumplings), yam cake and yam paste at the Chinatown Point atrium. There will also be an exhibition on Teochew wedding customs and gifts, and live demonstrations of how to make Teochew peanut candy.

The BreadTalk Group will unveil a Toast Box Coffee House in the heritage enclave of Tiong Bahru on Wednesday. The coffee chain will serve up Nanyang favourites such as delightful old-fashioned cakes and kuehs. Customers at the store can also tuck into fish soup from First Street Teochew Fish Soup, whose humble origins date back to 1988 in Upper Serangoon Road. The fish soup store, which is famous for its traditional Teochew pomfret fish soup, was acquired by the group a few years ago.

The group also inked a deal with Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, another Teochew brand, in 2018 to expand into new markets such as China and Thailand.

Besides helming a food empire with more than 700 outlets worldwide – including brands such as Food Republic, Food Junction and Din Tai Fung – Mr Quek prides himself on being someone who serves up Teochew heritage and culture.

“I have always been interested in culture, and the easiest way to... promote heritage and culture is through food,” he said.

“Today, many younger ones do not speak Chinese dialects, and may take some time to understand Teochew opera, for example. However, they can still appreciate Teochew food,” the 67-year-old added.

As the president of the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan, a clan association, from 2013 to 2016, Mr Quek organised the Teochew Festival in 2014 and 2016 to promote Teochew culture and heritage through cuisine, arts and crafts, and performances.

While recalling the festival, he started to sing the catchy jingle that accompanied the commercial for the festival then – “Teochew nang, kaki nang (Teochew person, one of us), Hey-O, Hey-O”, sang to the tune of country song Jambalaya.

There are an estimated 500,000 Teochews in Singapore, who form the second-largest Chinese sub-group after the Hokkiens. The Teochews, originally from eight counties in China’s southern Chaoshan region, first arrived in Singapore in the early 1800s.

Mr Quek, whose ancestry goes back to Chao’an, a district of Chaozhou city in China, is the clan association’s adviser and lifetime honorary president.

It was his experience with the Teochew clan association that led him to better understand and appreciate various aspects of Teochew culture, and strengthened his resolve to promote and sustain the heritage.

This mission will be upheld by his three children, including his son, Mr Jonathan Quek, 28, managing director of the group’s bakery division. He is the second child of Mr Quek and Madam Katherine Lee.

Mr Jonathan Quek’s older sister Joselle, 30, heads the research and development team, while younger brother Matthew, 27, manages Din Tai Fung.

The younger Mr Quek said he grew up steeped in Teochew heritage – food, in particular. “I love the png kueh (peach-shaped rice kueh) made by my grandparents, and the tau sar piah they bought.”

He joined the business in August 2020, and spent six months as a management trainee on the front line. 

Even then, he was no newcomer to the business. He had previously worked as a cashier at BreadTalk and served at Din Tai Fung during his school holidays. He and his siblings also followed their parents to various outlets when they were young.

Mr Jonathan Quek graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Management and later a Master of Science in Real Estate, both from London’s Cass Business School. It was then that his father wanted him to come back and learn the ropes of the business.

“I’m your best teacher,” Mr George Quek told his son. “You have studied enough and can continue to learn on the job.”

Mr Jonathan Quek picked up many traditional values from his parents.

“Respect for the elderly, integrity and sincerity, and to keep my word and promises,” said the Hwa Chong alumnus, who still visits his teachers.

He hopes to relieve 20 per cent to 30 per cent of his parents’ workload “so they can spend more time with each other”.

Mr George Quek has high hopes for Thye Moh Chan – in particular, the humble tau sar piah.

“It has lots of potential and can likely go regional, just like Taiwan’s pineapple tarts,” he said. However, as the pastries are handmade, they cannot be mass-produced, unlike BreadTalk’s popular bread.

Heritage sells, and Thye Moh Chan’s traditional flaky-skinned mooncakes have proven to be another winning formula. Thye Moh Chan’s four outlets sold more mooncakes than all BreadTalk and Toast Box outlets combined during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Additionally, Thye Moh Chan’s array of pastries are popular during special occasions such as weddings and baby full-month celebrations, as well as festive occasions like Chinese New Year. Tourists get them as souvenirs, while locals – not just Teochews – buy them as gifts.

“I hope the younger leaders and their teams will enhance all the brands – not in terms of quantity but quality,” Mr George Quek said. “Let the respect and love for the brands grow. It’s important to do better than to do more.”

He believes the ability to work hard and overcome all hardship, a core Teochew value, will determine their success.

“The Teochews didn’t have a lot of resources, and those who came to Nanyang were impoverished,” he said. “Diligence is deeply rooted in our culture, and especially (in) a challenging sector like ours.”