Tiap Tiap, one of Singapore’s most beloved heritage food brands, has officially opened its doors to its first physical storefront today at 374 East Coast Road. Graced by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC (Joo Chiat), the grand opening marks six years since founder Sophia Yeow began baking from her home kitchen, starting a journey that has taken the brand from a two-product home delivery operation to a central kitchen, a loyal following built entirely through word of mouth, and now, a permanent home in one of Singapore’s most storied heritage neighbourhoods of Katong and Joo Chiat.
Founded by Sophia and her daughter Nicole Lian, Tiap Tiap is built around the simple conviction that food is equally about what is on the plate and who gathers around it. This philosophy is embedded in everything from the brand’s recipes to the shop itself, where guests can savour a cup of coffee or tea with a slice of cake, while deciding on a cake to purchase for a loved one.
“We designed our store to be an extension of our home. Guests who have joined us for our private dining experience at Butterfly Table will recognise that every piece of china we serve you in and every feature of the space carries a piece of our family home,” said Sophia Yeow, Co-Founder and CEO of Tiap Tiap.
“Joo Chiat was the right neighbourhood for us to establish our first storefront, not only because I grew up in the East Coast area, but more importantly because this precinct has always understood what it means to keep heritage alive,” added Yeow. “We want Tiap Tiap to be this kind of place, where you return not because you have to, but because it feels like coming home.”
Reflecting on the importance of what Tiap Tiap represents as a new addition to the neighbourhood, Minister Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC (Joo Chiat) said, “The food cultures that we have in Singapore are very special. We need to preserve as much of this as possible, and it is not easy to do. We will continue to support this community of heritage food and Peranakan food, and the special skills that we need to preserve in our community. We hope to continue to savour the presence of Tiap Tiap in our community for a long time to come.”
A SIX-YEAR JOURNEY FROM HOME KITCHEN TO JOO CHIAT
Tiap Tiap was born in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when friends began asking Sophia to cook for them. She started with three items: her pandan chiffon cake, and radish and yam kueh. What followed was an organic growth driven by the quality of the product itself and her friends’ enthusiastic advocacy for her bakes. Customers became regulars, regulars became friends, and friends became the brand’s most ardent advocates.
Nicole joined as Managing Director in 2024, leaving a career in systems engineering and product design to bring operational structure to what her mother had built through instinct and craft. The mother-daughter duo spent the next two years establishing a central kitchen in Bedok, refining their systems, and growing the team before committing to a retail space. The shopfront on East Coast Road marks the brand’s sixth anniversary.
“When I decided to leave my corporate job and join my mum, people thought I was mad, including my own mother,” said Nicole Lian, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Tiap Tiap. “I saw something in what she had built that felt rare, with products that people genuinely love, and a community that had formed around it without any marketing spend. This strong foundation inspired me to take on the role of building the scaffolding around this labour of love. The shop is the next chapter, and we cannot wait to welcome more guests to this extension of our home.”
ELEVATING TRADITION THROUGH CULINARY INNOVATION
Tiap Tiap’s menu is anchored by items well-loved by its loyal customers: the Pandan Chiffon Cake, made with Japanese cake flour and hand-pressed pandan juice, served with a separately bottled gula melaka drizzle for, and has grown to include an Ondeh Ondeh Cake, Banoffee Pie, and Chocolate Cream Cake that reimagines the heartland roll cake in an elevated form with Van Houten chocolate rice and Valrhona dark chocolate.
The savoury take-home range draws on Sophia’s Peranakan heritage and personal culinary history, spanning paper-wrapped chicken, Teochew ngoh hiang, Nyonya curry midwings, and seafood yuteow, all made from fresh ingredients. These items, sold frozen with cooking instructions included, are Tiap Tiap’s answer to the busy household, making heritage food accessible to time-starved professionals and working parents whenever the occasion calls for it.
The shop’s snack counter features fish keropok made with mackerel, hand-stirred Nyonya kaya made without egg whites for a much rounder and umami spread, and DIY muah chee designed to be eaten cold, allowing customers to store it in the fridge and enjoy it without worrying about it hardening the moment it leaves the steam warmer.
A guilt-free pandan chiffon, using monk fruit as a sugar replacement, was developed over six months of recipe testing and validated with continuous glucose monitors, giving customers a healthier option to indulge in.
ROOTED IN JOO CHIAT
The launch of Tiap Tiap’s first storefront in Joo Chiat marks a form of homecoming for the brand. Sophia grew up in the East Coast region, fondly recalling the East Coast stretch and Beach Road Prawn Noodle House as a staple since her childhood Sunday visits. The neighbourhood’s Peranakan heritage grounds the brand’s heritage DNA, and the community response has been immediate, with residents and businesses alike welcoming Tiap Tiap into one of Singapore’s most vibrant intersections of heritage and contemporary food culture.
