Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries: Preserving Tradition with Handmade Pineapple Tarts and Pastries at Sims Vista Market

It has been a year since my last visit to Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries at Sims Vista Market and Food Centre. Back then, I had some of Aunty Liau’s signature pastries like tau sar piah, mooncakes, and ondeh ondeh.

Aunty Liau remains one of the most memorable interviewees I’ve met—warm, casual, and always radiating joy. This time, I decided to return because I heard she’s now making pineapple tarts, one of my personal favourites.

In the past year, Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries has grown significantly. They now operate a central kitchen near Kovan, which allows them to meet the increasing demand for their pastries while preserving the family legacy. As always, Aunty Liau greeted me like an old friend, her cheerful demeanor instantly lighting up the stall.

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Her son, Weijie, continues to help at the stall alongside his wife, who recently left her job to dedicate herself full-time to the business. The family dynamic is heartwarming: Aunty Liau and her daughter work alongside her sisters in the central kitchen, while Weijie and his wife manage the stall. It’s a true family affair, with everyone playing a role in keeping the business alive.

“Sometimes customers want to see my face, so I still have to come down to the stall,” Aunty Liau chuckled. Indeed, she’s the heart and soul of Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries, but as she admits, there’s only so much one pair of hands can do.

This visit, Aunty Liau was busy preparing pineapple tarts with her daughter-in-law. They offer three types: the signature open-faced pineapple tart, pineapple tart balls, and charcoal pineapple tarts.

Having tasted countless pineapple tarts over the years, I can be quite picky, but Aunty Liau’s tarts exceeded my expectations. The buttery, fragrant crust—made without eggs—is a standout. Paired with her homemade pineapple filling, which is cooked from scratch with fresh pineapples and has a natural sweetness, it’s a recipe perfected through years of experimentation. The tarts had a “melt-in-your-mouth” texture and a slight crispness. They contain no preservatives and last up to six weeks—though my bottle didn’t even last a week!

Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries also offers a delightful range of CNY festive treats, each made with the same dedication to quality and tradition. Their kueh bangkit is a particular highlight, with flour fried with pandan leaves for fragrance, resulting in a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a rich coconut milk flavour. The butter cookies, made with Danish butter, are rich, buttery, and irresistibly crumbly. The charcoal love letters, baked to crispy perfection, are low in sugar but full of flavour. Beyond these iconic creations, they also produce kueh lapis, kok-zai, prawn rolls, nian gao, and beehives, among others. It’s hard to imagine how they managed to produce all of these in their small stall before the central kitchen opened.

Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries began as a humble pushcart in Geylang Lorong 17–18, where Weijie’s grandfather sold min jiang kueh. In 1976, the family moved to Sims Vista Market as one of the first hawkers. Aunty Liau, once an apprentice at a traditional bakery, and her husband, Uncle Sim, left their jobs to expand the business into a full-fledged pastry stall, creating recipes inspired by Aunty Liau’s passion for experimentation.

Weijie’s decision to leave his teaching career to continue the family business reflects his dedication. He now oversees operations, planning, and marketing, ensuring Hung Huat Cakes & Pastries thrives in a tough industry. “It’s hard work, but this business is part of our family,” Weijie shared.

If you’re ever at Sims Vista Market, don’t miss the chance to try their handmade goodies. Whether it’s the buttery pineapple tarts, fragrant kueh bangkit, or crispy love letters, each bite tells a story of heritage, passion, and family.