From High Street cafe to MRT kiosks: Polar's 100-year survival story

SINGAPORE: Ask any Singaporean to name the brand behind sugar rolls, chicken pies and curry puffs, and the answer comes without hesitation – Polar.

Of the three, Polar's most iconic product is the curry puff, and the secret to it sits behind a padlocked door at the company's Woodlands factory. The room is labelled the "Curry Room" and is off-limits to all of its 350 employees except one. Inside, a curry mix formula that has been passed down through generations is prepared daily.

Dr Chan Kok Yew, 57, is the third-generation keeper of this closely guarded recipe. 

A medical doctor by training and the company's executive chairman, he continues to oversee "certain aspects" of production in "a significant way", ensuring each batch tastes exactly as it should. 

When pressed about whether he can bake the curry puffs himself, he said: "If you ask me to do it from step one to the end, I probably can do several of the steps. It's actually not rocket science."

The original recipe for the puff pastry, he revealed, came from an unlikely source – a French chef at a card game.

“The recipe for that was won over a deck of cards. The wager was the recipe and my uncle was quite good at card games,” he said. His uncle, Chan Chong Hin, refined the recipe into what became Polar's signature offering.

Whether the card game story is family lore or fact, it has become part of the business's mythology. Today, Polar operates 37 outlets in Singapore and another 200 points of sale, including petrol stations, supermarkets and convenience stores. 

In addition to its Woodlands plant, it also has a factory in Changi Prison, where Polar was the first food workshop to open and employ inmates as part of the Yellow Ribbon Project more than 20 years ago.

GATSBY-ERA GLAMOUR

Polar's story began in 1926, when Dr Chan's maternal grandfather – a Hong Kong accountant who had migrated to Singapore – opened a Western-style cafe at 51 High Street after saving enough money. 

“The 1920s were the Gatsby era. Cafes were the in thing,” Dr Chan said.  

Beyond cakes and curry puffs, Polar was one of only two cafes that served ice cream sundaes. It was also among the few businesses that stayed open during the Japanese Occupation.

After the war, the High Street area became the Orchard Road of its time, surrounded by key landmarks like the Supreme Court, the old Parliament House and Metro. 

Lawyers, politicians, expatriates and executives frequented the cafe. Former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee was reportedly fond of the curry puffs.

For six decades, Polar Cafe served as both a neighbourhood fixture and a date spot.

"I've been told that people went there for romantic dates," said Dr Chan, whose team has been searching for customers whose parents or grandparents took photos at the cafe.

He remembers going to the cafe in secondary school, when the curry puffs were still served on trays and customers paid for what they ate.

“Back then, the curry puffs were very spicy. Maybe it’s because I was still young,” he said with a chuckle.

In 1986, the government reclaimed the land for Parliament House. The cafe closed its doors, and a Straits Times headline captured the city's sentiment: "Polar Cafe, that long-time purveyor of curry puffs and other tea-time temptations, is no more. Long live the curry puffs!"

REINVENTION

The curry puffs did live on. When Polar reopened as a kiosk near Raffles Place MRT station in 1987, customers queued for the flaky pastries they had been craving. A news report at the time noted that "tastebuds still tingled for their puffs" despite the year-long absence.

The kiosk model proved to be a hit. Puffs were baked on site in ovens, just like at the cafe, and the grab-and-go format suited the growing demand for convenience.

"It was beyond expectations," Dr Chan says. "It grew and then we had to rent a factory to produce for the multiple outlets that were growing."

Other recipes, such as sugar rolls and chicken pies, soon followed. Today, sugar rolls are Polar’s top-selling product, followed by the pies and puffs.

The brand sells more than 1 million sugar rolls annually – part of a total of over 4 million pastries and cakes sold each year.

Children of the 2000s may remember Polar’s birthday cakes featuring cartoon characters like Hello Kitty and Superman. Dr Chan said the company was among the first to pioneer such designs.

At its Woodlands Link factory, he observed a long-serving staff member decorate one of these cakes – a familiar task for many of the company’s 350 employees, some of whom have been with the brand since its cafe days.

"It's a very family environment. I think that's what most of my staff would say," said Dr Chan. 

THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL

But growth creates challenges. Like many F&B businesses, Polar faces rising costs for manpower, rent and raw materials. A curry puff that once cost 20 cents is now priced at S$2.80 (US$2.18).

“We actually try very hard to keep it down as much as possible. You want people to enjoy your products … but you have to make it affordable for them,” said Dr Chan.

“But to make it affordable for them, your price increase cannot go in line with the rest (of the cost increases). That’s the sad reality.”

Choosing high-footfall locations is now a strategic necessity.

He also acknowledged that new dessert shops and bakeries constantly enter the scene. “We have competitors, they will also stay relevant. I think it’s good competition because everyone tries to stay in touch with (each other) or one step ahead.”

Polar’s marketing team keeps an eye on trends and feeds them to the product development team. 

Healthier options are in demand, but not always easy to execute. For instance, wholegrain waffles were trialled at some outlets – but they lacked the signature smell that drew customers in.

Each round of product development may test four to five items. If lucky, a hit emerges quickly. 

“Sometimes it will take maybe five rounds, so that would be one in 25 products. But sometimes it doesn’t happen, so we get zero,” said Dr Chan.

THE NEXT CENTURY

Dr Chan says competition keeps everyone sharp, but emphasises what he sees as Polar's advantage: longevity and consistency.

"We have to stay true to our core products, your classics," he says. "Our heritage helps – being 100 years old does help our branding very much."

Polar recently opened its first Malaysian outlet in Penang, and is planning for more in Kuala Lumpur. But the bigger question concerns succession. 

Dr Chan takes a pragmatic view. If his children don't want the business, it continues without them. 

“Most family businesses – it’s not because you’re family then you run the business. Nowadays it’s different … they need capable people to run the business, whether you’re family or not,” he said.

“If we don’t have family members, then we have to engage a capable person to run the show. There’s no two ways about it.”