Reputed for its famous traditional tau sar piah (bean paste pastry), Thye Moh Chan almost made its exit from history in 2011 by closing its doors. However the Breadtalk Group decided to preserve the legacy of this 70-year old Teochew bakery with three brand new outlets at Chinatown Point, Parkway Parade and VivoCity.

I wasn’t very interested in Chinese pastries before but perhaps due to my Teochew roots, I’m rather inclined to fancy anything Teochew over time. Like I always say, age seems to change me constantly.

I watched 财经追击 (Money Week) on Channel U quite sometime ago. The host 董素华 was interviewing Dr George Quek, Chairman of the BreadTalk Group, during one of the segments which I found it extremely inspiring. I could then better understand and appreciate the reasons why Dr George Quek felt it was important to revive Thye Moh Chan. It wasn’t just a bakery. It wasn’t just for the pastries too. It was a story worth keeping alive for the people behind Thye Moh Chan who had painstakingly made tau sar piah by hand and the generations of customers who had grown old with the bakery.

Box of 8 assorted tau sar piahs ($1.60 per piece or $10.80 per box of 8)

These eight treasures consist of the following flavours:
1. Traditional Salty Tau Sar Piah
2. Traditional Sweet Tau Sar Piah
3. Yuan Yang (Salty)
4. Cranberry Tau Sar Piah
5. Assorted Nuts Lotus
6. Melon Seed Red Bean
7. Teochew Yam
8. Teochew Double Delight

After trying all of them with my family, we unanimously agreed that the Yuan Yang was the best of the lot. It was an innovative combination of savoury bean paste, spicy pork floss and salted egg yolk. The different flavours somehow just blended together seamlessly. Very aromatic and delicious.

Even though their signature tau sar piahs are the traditional sweet and salty ones, I found them a little lacklustre because I couldn’t taste much shallots or lard in them. I’d still prefer the ones at Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah 龍發豆沙饼 at Balestier Road that have more ‘ooomph’.

What really fascinated me were the new flavours of Yuan Yang, Cranberry and Assorted Nuts Lotus that really brought dull, boring tau sar piah to another level. I’m sure these new flavours will be a hit with the younger generation.

Oh yes, I love the packaging because underneath the cover, you can see a chart with a row of diagrams that show the various toppings on each tau sar piah so you can differentiate the different flavours.

Thye Moh Chan’s tar sau piahs are freshly baked daily and the sweet-flavoured ones are not cloyingly sweet which is good. I’m definitely returning again to grab a box of Yuan Yang and I look forward to seeing more creations from Thye Moh Chan in the time to come.

Thye Moh Chan
Chinatown Point
133 New Bridge Road
#01-45/46
Tel: 6604 8858
Open: 10.00am to 10.00pm daily
Website

Tags: bakerybean paste pastrybread talkchinatownchinatown pointchinese pastrieschinese snacksfoodfood reviewparkway paradepastriessingapore foodsnackstau sar piahteochew bakerythye moh chantraditional bakeryvivocity