Emilian: Have you ever been to a Hainanese bakery? I went there to eat and bake. Let me fill you in about how Hainanese bakeries came to Singapore:

In the early days of Singapore, people from the China region and southern China (Hainanese) arrived in droves to work as trader, artisans, collies, craftsmen and itinerant trades. By 1824, the total population had made many contribution in Singapore economy. By 1841 during the british Colony rule, the Hainanese made up the largest indigenous group in Singapore, many of whom ventured into coffee shop businesses, selling coffee, tea, cold drinks, pastries and bread.

Interviewer: That’s very interesting. Now, knowing that, tell me about everything!

Emilian: Ohhhhh yeah, let’s get started!

 

Question 1: How did you start makin’ n’ bakin’ stuff?

Emilian: My Mom’s colleague, Karen invited us to a delicious Hainanese lunch. We ate chicken rice, sweet and sour pork, and loads of other deliciousness. After that she and her husband Peter took us to a famous Hainanese bakery. We ate some Kaya toast – the spread is made out of sugar and coconut butter (YUMMMMM). I noticed that people were making bread right there, so I went to check it out. I watched a little, then a kind man who was making something out of little clumps of dough invited me to try. I saw what he did: measured the weight of little clumps of dough so that they weighed 6.0 ounces, I think? Then he rolled each one of them into a nice little ball. I tried to do the same, but for every ball I made, he made about 25. It was fun and hard!

Question 2: What were you making?

Emilian: We were making dough balls, but from those dough balls, the other bakers made delicious things.

Question 3: What was the most enjoyable part of your visit to the bakery?

Emilian: 1. Eating the delicious Kaya toast, and 2. Trying and failing to make the little dough balls. It was a great experience!

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. I wish you a pleasant day, Chef Emilian!

Provided to you by Emilian Interviewing Corps.