Kam Hing Bakery: A True Pillar of Chinatown
Food Review | Culture | Austin Kong
Kam Hing Bakery is an old-school third-generation establishment well-renown by many American-born Chinese locals for its delicious sponge cakes and welcoming atmosphere.
Located on Baxter Street off Canal, this unassuming bakery in Chinatown has been selling sponge cakes for over 30 years and has now been passed off onto its younger generation as a family-run business. Inside the homeful environment, you can see locals and some tourists patronize the original sponge cake and numerous flavors like green tea, chocolate chip, brown sugar, and coconut along with coffee or tea. A Hong Kong favorite is a yuenyeung, half coffee and half tea. While this spot may seem a bit cluttered with boxes of junk, strange signage, and décor, the owners embrace the community with open arms and invite customers to sit down and grab a bite or sip at their café.
Sponge cakes are sold in almost every Chinese bakery you would find in Chinatown and each bakery does their own differently. But what makes Kam Hing (金興) stand out is their boat-shaped ingot reminiscent of Ancient Chinese currency back in the days. And the luck and prosperity that comes with it. There’s no denying the taste of Kam Hing’s sponge cakes are more fragrant with a deeper taste when fresh out of the oven.
Kam Hing is also a community establishment where the elderly and young can depend on their cheap coffee or tea, usually costing about a buck twenty-five. Since the pandemic, they’ve set up free donations to the community like masks, hand sanitizer, and other goods grannies can depend on. To me, this bakery has a special place in my heart because I’ve been coming here since I was young when they had their first store across from their current location in a much cozier setting.
Liz Yee, a family member, and co-owner of Kam Hing, spoke to me about the origin story behind the business and the light-heartedness it brings to people.
Tell me about the inception of your business, how did Kam Hing Bakery begin and who were the founders?
Hi, my name is Liz, and I am no good at remembering dates, but Kam Hing has been open for over 30 years and it started with a grandpa. Which was passed down to my father and now to my siblings and I. Hopefully we will be able to pass it down to our next generation too.
How long has Kam Hing been a part of Chinatown?
We’ve been a part of Chinatown since the day it opened. We moved across the street from the original location (119 Baxter Street), but we have kept the old signage with us.
Where did the sponge cake recipe originate from?
Our sponge cakes originated from China, and we have now expanded our cake flavors. We expanded our flavors to over 70 different kinds. Our basic flavors can range from chocolate chip, green tea, coconut and then we have our more unique flavors like durian, mango, peach, cinnamon crumb, and lychee rose.
Who first started the idea to make the different kinds of Asian flavors for the sponge cakes? And how many flavors are in circulation?
My mom and brother started the different flavors. They’re the cooks of the family and the ones with the taste buds to explore all these different flavors. The more unique flavors are from my brother’s trip when he was traveling to Asia. He’s the one that found flavors like ube and pandan. We went ahead with the flavors because we are a big family that all have different kinds of taste buds so to be able to have these different flavors to please everyone, makes everyone happy and it gives new variety to eat. And we are happy to share that with our customers.
What’s the story behind the cartoon of the sponge cake lady?
The story behind our sponge cake girl and sponge cake people are to represent our family. We are huge fans of the M&M people and that’s where it came from to make sponge cake into sponge people. The sponge cake girl represents my daughter which is the future generation. And the other sponge people represent my parents and siblings.
What about the quirky signage on the front of the counter?
The signage that we have posted on the front of the counter is from trips my family and I have taken together. Things we found funny and wanted to share with the customers because reading them puts a smile on your face. We have a family saying, “One day sad, is a day wasted. One day happy is a day better.” Which is why we strive to be happy and hope to create that feeling with our customers.
You guys used to sell rice rolls and curry balls, what happened to that?
We used to sell rice rolls and fish balls before the pandemic and we did put a pause to that because after the pandemic, many of our regulars didn’t return. Either from moving away or having to work at home. And we decided to let our sister store, Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle, be the focus on the rice noodles and fish balls. We would love to bring it back to Kam Hing in time but at this moment; rice rolls are sold only at Tonii’s which is located about 3 blocks away at 83 Bayard Street.
It seems like your casual sit down and have a sponge cake and coffee has attracted a lot of grannies and elderly folk to come hang out, was this intentional?
Most of our customers are grannies and elderly folks due to the adult day care center next door. This was not intentional; it just happened that way. It’s very relaxing and it’s cute to watch these grannies and grandpas pick up their grandkids and come in for a sponge cake too. It’s good watching time being spent together, and memories being made with family.
So I have been coming to Kam Hing ever since the early days when you guys were in that little shop across the street. Now, you guys are in a bigger location and there’s even a competitor across from you that opened his shop as a former employee of yours from what I gathered. What has changed?
We used to be a store across the street, and since then we have moved to a new location just directly across the street. Nothing has changed, just the spacing. It is a lot more space and more relaxing for our customers to sit down and relax and enjoy their cups of coffee and sponge cakes.
How would you describe your business as being a pillar to this community?
Most people say Kam Hing is like a pillar to Chinatown, which I can sometimes agree on. I do think Kam Hing is a pillar because we haven’t changed the item of our cakes. We still sell the same old cake we had 30 years ago but we are also incorporating the new generation tastebuds in too. I feel as if using these cakes, we can mix the old generation who usually eat the original cakes and the new generation who like to try new unique flavors like pandan and ube together. I feel like it’s a melting pot of different cultures and generations all in one.
