Located at Kim Keat Lane, Sweetlands Confectionery & Bakery is one of the few remaining bakeries in Singapore which still employs traditional methods of baking bread.
The premises of Sweetlands Bakery and Confectionary – filled with row after row of brown bread loaves, fresh out of traditional ovens – will transport customers back to a bygone era.
Occupying three stories, the shophouse’s historical façade and distinctive red tiled roof have been kept. Similar to working conditions in the past, the shop is still cooled by fans instead of air-conditioning.
Historical records indicate that the shophouse unit has operated as a bakery since 1970. Then, it was listed as Sin Sze Tai Bakery – one of approximately 200 such bakeries that would deliver fresh loaves to traditional coffeeshops island-wide.
‘Old is gold’, or so they say. Today, Sweetlands is one of a small number of bakeries in Singapore that still employ traditional methods and machinery to bake bread. The staff, many whom are close to retirement age, have worked in this industry for decades.
Similar to other traditional bakeries, Sweetlands presently faces the challenges of rising operation costs, lack of manpower, and decline in business.
Buildings and sites featured on Roots.SG are part of our efforts to raise awareness of our heritage; a listing on Roots.SG does not imply any form of preservation or conservation status, unless it is mentioned in the article. The information in this article is valid as of October 2019 and is not intended to be an exhaustive history of the site/building.
