Hone Bakes: How a 26-year-old is bringing her mother’s dream to life

By Gaelmaine Hoong January 2, 2025
Hone Bakes: How a 26-year-old is bringing her mother’s dream to life
Photos: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere
  • The brainchild of Chew Yi En, 26, and her mother, Hoh Wei Lee, 56, Hone Bakes is a home-based bakery known for its inventive flavours and heartfelt creations. 
  • It marks the duo’s first step towards realising Wei Lee’s lifelong dream of owning a cafe. 
  • They chat with us about the inception of Hone Bakes, the inspiration behind their bakes and what’s next for them.

Like many of us, Chew Yi En thought that her future would follow the conventional route – graduate from university, land a stable corporate job and build herself a secure career. But after two years in the corporate world where she worked in food media, the 26-year-old found herself unfulfilled and yearned for a pursuit that she resonated with. 

That longing led to the birth of Hone Bakes

Hoh Wei Lee, Yi En’s mother, was a big driving force behind the inception of the bakery. The 56-year-old used to run her own home-based bakery — called Wei Lee’s Passion — during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was when home-baking saw a surge in popularity and in turn cultivated Yi En’s interest in baking. 

Hone Bakes
Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

The interest quickly developed into a passion that Yi En actively pursued, even while in school. What started as a casual hobby quickly evolved into small bake sales, where she found joy in the process of baking and sharing her creations. 

“I liked that I could experiment with different flavours and textures,” she says. “Seeing people get satisfaction through our bakes was also very enjoyable.” 

Hone Bakes
Clockwise from the top: For the festive period, Yi En has introduced festive flavours such as hojicha kinako mochi tart, brown butter miso chocolate toffee cookies and dark chocolate cookies. Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

Curating flavours with creativity and tradition

Gateau cakes are one of the more popular items at Hone Bakes. Inspired by Yi En’s trip to Korea, these cakes feature a rich filling sandwiched between thick layers of sponge cake.

Hone Bakes
Photo: Gaelmaine Hoong/HungryGoWhere

Realising her rendition was missing an “oomph” factor and driven by a desire to create something unique, Yi En added homemade mochi in between the dense cake layers to give the cake a chewy, textural contrast. 

“It’s quite a laborious process,” she says. Many components are involved, including a mochi layer, biscuit crumb, cream toppings and sponge cake. Nonetheless, she enjoys the step-by-step process of bringing the dessert to life.

Hone Bakes
Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

Yi En’s creativity and Wei Lee’s expertise blend well together — something that we can see from Hone’s menu — allowing them to cater to diverse tastes. 

“Older people think gateau cakes are too dense. They are more appreciative of our chiffon cakes, which are lighter,” said Yi En. The chiffon cakes are part of her mother’s specialty, having mastered the recipe in her earlier baking days. 

Hone Bakes
Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

Taking the leap

But it’s been quite the journey for Yi En to get to where she is today.

In order to fully focus on her full-time job after graduating in 2020, she found herself putting baking on hold.

But this quickly left her feeling stagnant and she found herself wanting to pursue a career she felt more passionate about. 

Hone Bakes
Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

Eventually, she made the bold decision to leave that stability behind to pursue her passion: Baking and to help fulfil her mother’s lifelong dream. 

“My mother has always wanted to own her own cafe, and this felt like a necessary first step,” Yi En said. 

Hone Bakes
Yi En and mum Wei Lee tackle the numerous orders coming in, working 12-hour shifts some days. Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

Yi En was initially hesitant. She was plagued with financial concerns and was apprehensive about Singapore’s competitive food scene. 

“Ultimately, I thought that I was still young and I could always bounce back,” she says. 

The transition from a stable full-time role to running her own home-based business wasn’t easy. Adjusting to the unpredictability of being her own boss and working long hours — from baking to managing social media — was a tedious process. 

Yi En was initially very cautious about talking about her work, because of the perception that home-based businesses may not be unstable.

“Sometimes, when I see my peers doing well in their corporate jobs, I do feel a bit sian (weary),” Yi En says. “But passion is more important and my only regret is that I didn’t start earlier.”

Hone Bakes
This art piece by one of Hone’s customers depicts one of its gateau cakes and is one of Yi En’s cherished possessions today. Photo: Gaelmaine Hoong/HungryGoWhere

Yi En finds encouragement in moments of connection with customers and consistent support from regulars, family and friends. She recalls a memorable moment when a customer presented her with a drawing of their gateau cakes during a pop-up event, which deeply touched her — so much so that the art piece is now a cherished item.

Bringing their dreams to life

So far, the move has paid off. Even though Hone Bakes launched recently, in March 2024, the brand has quickly gained recognition. 

Hone Bakes’ month-long pop-up at the Baker X incubation space at Orchard Central was a significant milestone for Yi En and Wei Lee.

It gave the pair the chance to see their brand in a formal, cafe-like setting, as well as baking outside the comforts of their own kitchen.

Hone Bakes
The sourdough bagels, part of Hone Bakes’ main menu, were a crowd favourite at the pop-up. Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

“During the first week, we had no idea what to expect, so our time management wasn’t the best,” Yi En recalls. “We left Baker X at 4am and would come back at 9am.” 

But the experience was a momentous and cherished one for the mother-daughter duo — from seeing posters featuring their bakes hung up across the mall, to selling out early. 

Most importantly, it gave them real-time exposure and practical experience.

“We didn’t know what the demand of the crowd would be like,” Yi En says, reflecting on the experience. “Sometimes you bake a lot of one item, but actually people want another item and it gets sold out.” 

The road ahead

Hone Bakes
Photo: Ravin Thiruchelvam/HungryGoWhere

The duo have started viewing potential spaces, but mentioned that they’ve put a hold on their cafe plans for now due to high rental costs.

So while a physical space may still be some ways away for Hone Bakes, Yi En and Wei Lee are optimistic about opening a cafe eventually. In the meantime, she continues to refine her menu and explore opportunities such as home-cafe events, inspired by a similar trend in Australia. 

For now, Hone Bakes remains a thriving home-based business, with its bake slots fully booked out until next year. Customers can place their orders via direct message on Instagram, but these are subject to availability. 

Keep your eyes peeled, as the duo is working tirelessly to bring new flavours and creations to bring something new to their customers during festive seasons.

For more ideas on what to explore, check out the top HungryGoWhere stories in 2024 and our Orchard Central food guide. Alternatively check out the newest openings in Singapore.

You can also book a ride to Hone Bakes.

Hone Bakes

Place an order via DM at its Instagram page to arrange for collection.

Place an order via DM at its Instagram page to arrange for collection.


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Gaelmaine Hoong

Author

Gael comes from a family of picky eaters and she also likes to talk a lot. So, writing about food seems like a reasonable pastime for her.

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