Title
Empress Restaurant Wooden Mould for Dragon-Phoenix Cake
Year/Period
20th Century
Region
Acquired in Singapore
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Gross measurement: 10.0 x 33.0 cm,
Object size: 32.8 x 10.7 x 3.8 cm
Object size: 32.8 x 10.7 x 3.8 cm
Accession No.
2025-00438
Collection of
This is a mooncake mould used by the Empress Restaurant (皇后酒楼). The design of the mould includes the characters ‘Huang Hou” (皇后, Empress) to brand the mooncakes they produce. The mould was used to form a special type of mooncake called Long Feng Bing (龙凤饼). This pastry would be presented as part of the dowry in some Chinese weddings. The Empress Restaurant was one of the ‘big eight’ Chinese restaurants that was in operation before the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. The Empress Restaurant was established since 1926 and hit its peak in business during the 1950s. It was popular as a wedding venue among the Hainanese community in Singapore.
