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If you are a Tau Sar Piah (green bean pastries) fan, you probably wouldn’t miss this inconspicuous old shop front at the corner of Balestier Road, near the Balestier/Thomson Road junction.  Yes, I am referring to 639 Balestier Rd, Loong Fatt Confectionery.

What’s so special about this shop?
Step into the shop and you would be instantly greeted with a reminiscence of coffeeshops in the 1970s – walls with squarish white tiles, round marble table-tops, spinning ceiling fans and most importantly the unmistakable aroma of freshly baked pastries with its long history. 

Hardly would anybody leave the shop without noticing the huge 30 year-old gas oven that looks like it is going to fall apart at any instance.  At least 5 to 6 kitchen staff including the boss herself would attend to the silent routine of churning out hot and fresh Tau Sar Piah in the open kitchen.  Every 5 minutes, the lady boss would retrieve the pastries on a huge metal plate from the oven, flip every single pastry and then push them back into the oven again, making sure that the pastries are cooked according to her secret recipe to perfection.  You would see two men by the side table, flattening and tossing huge chunks of “Tau Sar” (green bean paste), adding powdery ingredients that look like sugar and then flattening and tossing them again.  The whole process is repeated a few times before the paste is stored in metal cans, ready for the next round of oven bakery.

I suggest you eat the pastries as it is served fresh and hot from the oven.  The outer crust is crisp and yet not too hard. You will certainly sense a strong ‘butterish’ aroma as you bite through the paste – available in either “sweet” or “salty” flavours.

Tip: Ask for the “factory rejects” which are so merely due to their imperfect shapes.  They taste as good as the “perfect ones” but are sold at $0.40 per piece rather than the usual $0.60.  Complete the whole Tau Sar Piah experience with a Kopi-O (black coffee) that is also available from the store.

Nearby condos include: The Arte, Vista Residences, The Citrine, Thomson 368, Cube 8 etc.