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Seong Ying Chai, Chinatown

By thokohmakan on September 8, 2024

Seong Ying Chai in Chinatown KL

[Non-halal] Seong Ying Chai 双英斋 is one of the oldest bakeries in Chinatown KL to get Chinese pastries.

Established in 1935, Seong Ying Chai is a family-run business currently run by the third generation.

Seong Ying Chai offers traditional Chinese pastries using recipes that has been passed down for decades.

All of the pastries here are handmade with the freshest and finest ingredients, and continues to operate at its original premise since the 30s.

Seong Ying Chai offers mooncakes and more

We were introduced to Seong Ying Chai 双英斋 by a friend when we enquired for recommendations to the best mooncakes in town.

This bakery is located in Jalan Hang Jebat, a quiet lane just off the busy and popular Jalan Sultan in KL. To access this spot, simply walk up the road next to 5 Elements Hotel (or check out our Instagram reel for directions).

Seong Ying Chai's 90-year old history

Seong Ying Chai was first established in 1935 by Lee Yat Chor to serve Cantonese cuisine in Chinatown.

Influenced by relatives from Hong Kong, the Lee family soon began to offer traditional mooncakes some 60 years ago.

The bakery is currently run by the third generation - Lee's grandson Leonard, who revived the family business in 2018 to continue the legacy of his family's mooncake recipes.

Classic traditions at Seong Ying Chai

Despite being only a 200m away from the busy Jalan Sultan, Seong Ying Chai's location is somewhat a hidden spot.

However, a walk through the entrance and you'll be greeted by stacks of mooncake boxes and traditional lanterns. What first caught our eye were the bunch of gong zai beng (animal biscuits) at the door that are sold in traditional bamboo-weaved baskets.

A variety of gong zai beng

Today, these gong zai beng are usually packed in commercially-produced plastic basket - so it was a joy seeing these hand-crafted baskets being used and sold.

Seong Ying Chai offers gong zai beng in a variety of sizes and flavours. Traditionally made with the same ingredients used to make mooncake skin, the bakers here also offer gong zai beng with added salt, lotus paste filling, and jujube.

We tried all versions. While they are slightly on the sweeter side - they have vey good texture with a nice chewiness. The were so many cute animals to choose from as well - including fishes, pigs and crocodiles.

Traditional mooncakes with classic flavours

As this was close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, our objective here was to secure some mooncakes for family consumption.

Seong Ying Chai offers an array of mooncake flavours - from the traditional White Lotus Paste with Yolk (RM53 for two) to Mixed Nuts with Cranberries to Tangerine Peel Red Bean Paste with Pine Nuts.

Our friend's favourite flavour is the Nuts with Ham as it features the Chinese cured-ham, which has become a scarce ingredients for mooncake.

Instead, we opted for the Golden Emerald Paste with Single Yolk and White Lotus Paste with Osmanthus.

We enjoyed the mooncakes

Golden Emerald Paste with Single Yolk

White Lotus Paste with Osmanthus

We enjoyed the mooncakes! We sometimes find commercially mass-produced mooncakes overtly sweet but the paste for the two mooncakes were really fragrant and not too sweet.

The texture for the Golden Emerald Paste had a good chewiness with enough pandan fragrance. While Ming didn't like the strong taste of Osmanthus - Max loved it!