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The Polar Café’s very existence from 1926 till the present – through 94 years – is a testament of God’s faithfulness. Many unexpected things happened, but the business was kept going – from its early beginnings, through the Japanese Occupation, its founder’s death, economic turbulence. The business experienced God’s protection and provision through them all.
Beginnings
In the early 1920s, with only ninety cents in his pocket and big dreams, Chan Hinky came from Hong Kong to Singapore. At first, he helped a relative run his shop. He was hardworking and a had a sharp business acumen. By 1926, he had saved enough money to take over a shop on High Street – the main street in Singapore at that time. He paid $500 – a huge sum in colonial days.
The location couldn’t have been better. It was in the heart of the busy, flourishing city. The courts and government offices were within walking distance. So the place was always buzzing with lawyers, members of parliament, court reporters, judges and business people.
Chan Hinky turned the shop into a café and named it Polar Café. Polar Cafe served cakes, sandwiches, a variety of ice-cream, and cold and hot drinks. Chan Hinky was enterprising and farsighted. He understood the power of advertising. In a local magazine, he publicised that his food was ‘BEING PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF AMERICAN TRAINED EXPERT. Our slogan is SERVE FINE–FINE SERVICE’.
Ready Team of Staff
In 1926, he brought his family from Hong Kong. His wife and 4 older sons ran the café. Business was brisk and everyone, except the very young, helped in the family business.
In those days, everything was done by hand. The family got up early in the morning. There were so many things to do! Knead the dough, cook the curry, put in the filling for the puffs, fold the pastry, brush egg on the crust. All the older nieces and nephews pitched in to help. Quick! Spread jam between 2 layers of cake to form a sandwich cake. Mix the icing sugar and butter to make butter cream to decorate the cakes. O! Who has the rolling pin? Never mind, no time! Just use the empty soya sauce bottle to crush the peanuts. Then sprinkle the crushed peanuts on the cake! Fast! Fast! The customers are coming!
Some members would be baking while others served hot and cold drinks, ice cream, cakes and pastries. When Kate was old enough, she helped her second brother who was decorating the big cakes for Christmas & Chinese New Year. She would place a paper doily under each of the cakes, put them into boxes, attach the order forms and then stack them on the shelves, When customers came, she would look for their order forms and bring the correct cake downstairs to the cash register, manned by Kate’s oldest brother.
The Japanese Occupation
In February 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese. Between 1942 – 1945, the Japanese occupied Singapore. Many people suffered as many businesses folded up. There were few places where cakes and puffs were being sold. Polar Café continued to be popular. Long lines formed at the café. Rich people and even the Japanese patronized the café.
Now, next door to the café was a bar. The lady owner of the bar wanted their shop space and asked a Japanese soldier to help. The Japanese soldier walked into the Cafe, took out his sword and put it on the table. He meant business. He gave Chan Hinky three days to let him have the shop. How could Mr Chan do that? His family depended on the café for their livelihood. But if he said no to the Japanese soldier, he and his family could easily be executed.
The next three days were difficult days. Every day at 5am, Chan Hinky went to the huge field near his shop to pray. And God answered. The Japanese soldier never came back.
Fire!
One day, thick smoke rose into the sky. It was coming from the direction of the café. The police were already there and had cordoned off the roads. Kate was driving but she couldn’t use the roads that led there as these were off-limits. Quickly she drove into the nearby St Andrew’s Cathedral and parked. She prayed that if it’s according to the Lord’s will, to save their shop from the fire as He had saved it from the Japanese. After a short while, the fire seemed to have subsided. But later, more black smoke appeared. Again, Kate prayed. Soon, no more smoke appeared and she walked to the shop. Was the shop badly burnt? Such a huge fire would have burnt the entire shop!
Well, the warehouse behind the café had caught fire and spread. Flames were already touching the back wall of the café. But the fire engine arrived just in time to spray water onto the roof and walls of the café to prevent it from getting burnt.
Government Acquisition
In 1986, the Singapore government needed a new Parliament House. The row of shops in which Polar Café stood had to be demolished. Although the children of the Chan family had grown up, had their own careers and did not depend on the sales from baked goods, Kate’s family decided it would be a waste to just close down the business.
By then the café had already a history of 60 years and had become a household name, the income from the business could help others – the poor, church workers and missionaries. Kate’s husband, Dick, was going to retire so it was timely for him to run the business.
The café closed for about a year during which the management looked for possible new locations. After about one year of hiatus, the business reopened in December 1986 in a new location – Overseas Union Bank Centre – in the heart of the banking district.
From Teacher to Businesswoman
In February 1993, Kate resigned from teaching after more than 30 years and joined Polar as an executive director. Kate learnt with the Lord’s wisdom how to buy the cheapest and freshest ingredients. In November that year, her mother passed away and 3 years later, her husband too.
Polar had many retail outlets but only a rented kitchen of about 2,000 square feet. They rented the neighbouring factory doubling the central kitchen to 4,000 square feet. But gradually, even that space became very tight.
In 1996, Polar began a partnership with petroleum company, Mobil (now called Esso), to sell their cakes and puffs at 9 petrol stations. This rapid expansion of their distribution network meant their rented factory would shortly be inadequate. Their landlord was not so keen on renewing their lease as he did not wish to continue to have food manufacturing in his building. The owners of Polar Cafe looked but possible new locations were either too far away from their outlets or too expensive.
For years, they wanted their own building with their own kitchen. In August 1998, Polar Café bought a factory with a land space of 40,000 square feet in the northern part of Singapore. In 2003, another factory was opened in the eastern part of Singapore.
One after another, the Lord brought the Polar company through every setback: the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, SARS in 2003, the bird flu that affected Singapore’s supply of eggs in 2007, 2013 and other years. The company stayed afloat, even in bad times.
Kate’s assurance is in Malachi 3:10,
Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And thereby put Me to the test, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Kate’s philosophy on business, “Although we are in business, we do not simply set our hearts on making money and accumulating wealth. We always remember to set aside a certain percentage of the business profit for the Lord’s work. The real measure of our wealth is what we will be rewarded in eternity.
What does the future hold for Polar Puffs & Cakes? No one knows the answer. However, there is one thing I am certain of – God who has seen us through these ninety-four years will always be with us. He promised never to leave us or forsake us if we continue to trust Him and walk in His ways.
‘And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:20)
What a wonderful assurance we have from the risen Christ Himself!”
Indeed, what an assurance! And what a God who wants us for His people!
Next week is our last episode of Sweet Memories, Sweet Success. Kate is now about eighty-two years old and has retired from running the Polar company full-time. Life continues to be exciting as she follows her Lord. What has she been doing since? Come and find out!
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