Dona Manis Cake Shop’s co-founder sets up rival banana pie shop next door

Dining

“Auntie Peng”, creator of Dona Manis’ famous banana pie recipe, ran the Katong shop with the late Tan Tieow Teong since ’92. Mr Tan’s daughter rubbishes online speculation that she ‘kicked’ Auntie Peng out of the business.

Mdm Soh aka ‘Auntie Peng’ and her husband. (Photo: Facebook/Dona Manis Cake Shop)

Dona Manis Cake Shop is popular among foodies and easties for its old-school, affordable banana pies and chocolate tarts. It has been successfully operating from the basement of the retro Katong Shopping Centre since 1992.

But recently, there’s been a controversial new development. Another similar bakery called Auntie Peng Banana Pie, has opened right next door. And it sells almost identical bakes at the same prices.

Like Dona Manis, Auntie Peng Banana Pie is a no-frills takeaway bake shop – most of the space is dedicated to the kitchen, with a small display counter in front. There are also photos pasted on the glass doors advertising its signature bakes, alongside a blown-up shot of Auntie Peng and her husband.

Auntie Peng Banana Pie store front. (Photo: Facebook/Auntie Peng Banana Pie)

AUNTIE PENG, CO-FOUNDER OF DONA MANIS, OPENED RIVAL SHOP ON APR 9

As it turns out, Auntie Peng Banana Pie is run by Mdm Soh Tho Lang (who goes by “Auntie Peng”), 74, and her family who all used to work at Dona Manis next door (Mdm Soh as the baker, her husband and kids as kitchen assistants). In fact, up until the time she left, Mdm Soh’s son, Tan Ee Hsing, 48, told 8days that she was the shop’s sole baker and co-founder.

She had set up Dona Manis together with the late Mr Tan Tieow Teong back in 1992, but officially left the business at the start of April this year, before opening Auntie Peng Banana Pie on Apr 9. Mr Tan died last October.

A photo of Tan reading a newspaper at Dona Manis Cake Shop. (Photo: Facebook/Don Leow)

NO, DONA MANIS’ NEW OWNER DID NOT ‘KICK’ AUNTIE PENG OUT

While details are unclear, there’s speculation online surrounding Mdm Soh’s departure from Dona Manis. On a Facebook post on a foodie group about Auntie Peng Banana Pie, a netizen wrote that Mdm Soh left Dona Manis because “the founder passed on and left the business to his daughter, but she kicked Auntie Peng out”.

When 8days asked Ee Hsing about this, he declined to comment, but insisted “there’s no bad blood” between the two businesses. 8days didn’t manage to speak to Mdm Soh, who Ee Hsing said isn’t very phone-savvy.

Dona Manis’ owner, Esther Tan, 69 (daughter of the late Mr Tan), similarly clarified that there’s no drama with Mdm Soh, and firmly denies kicking her out.

“She was not an employee, she was a partner with my dad. I saw people online saying that I kicked her out – I thought ‘no way, you can’t kick out a partner so easily!’ What she told me (before she left Dona Manis) was that she wanted to retire, so I said okay,” she shared with 8days.

WHY DID AUNTIE PENG LEAVE DONA MANIS?

When Mdm Soh opened the new bakery next door, Esther admitted that she was surprised. “I didn’t know until they already rented the shop. In my mind, I thought she wanted to retire, but she now says that her son wants to take over (her business eventually)”.

Ee Hsing noted that his mum is now in fact semi-retired. Their new shop is basically a family business that he and his sister will take over eventually. Mdm Soh has trained them both to bake the banana pies.

Mdm Soh aka ‘Auntie Peng’ and her husband. (Photo: Facebook/Dona Manis Cake Shop)

So why did Mdm Soh really leave Dona Manis? Ee Hsing shared some details with 8days off the record – let’s just say it’s probably not a personal issue between his mother and Esther, but a classic case of differences in business goals.

IS MDM SOH THE ONLY PERSON WITH THE OG BANANA PIE RECIPE?

While he declined to comment on the true reason for the split, Ee Hsing did share that Mdm Soh is the creator of Dona Manis’ famous recipes, adding that “what Dona Manis is selling now is not (using) the same recipe, because the original recipe belongs to my mum”. Currently, Ee Hsing and his sister bake all the pies at her new shop under Mdm Soh’s supervision.

Auntie Peng’s banana pie. (Photo: Facebook/Auntie Peng Banana Pie)

Esther, on the other hand, claimed to also be in possession of the aforementioned OG banana pie recipe. “She (Mdm Soh) did come up with the recipe, it’s true,” she admitted. However, she added: “My dad did share the recipe with me, and I just improved on it”.

Dona Manis Cake Shop’s signature banana pie. (Photo: Dona Manis Cake Shop)

AUNTIE PENG’S SON SAID THEIR PIES TASTE DIFFERENT FROM DONA MANIS’

Ee Hsing clarified that while “it’s possible that Mr Tan gave her the recipe, the fact is that the banana pies taste different”.

He explained: “Everybody can have a recipe – just go to YouTube, and it’ll teach you how to make a (copycat) Dona Manis banana pie. The only thing is – can you make it taste the same as ours, which captured so many people’s hearts and taste buds?”

But he laughed it off and said: “It’s an open market, anybody can sell anything. Whose banana pies will capture more people’s taste buds? It used to be my mum’s (at Dona Manis), now there’s one more version to try – isn’t that a good thing also?”

ON SETTING UP SHOP NEXT TO DONA MANIS

Both Aunty Peng Banana Pie and Dona Manis sell pretty much the same items, with both shops’ banana pies going for S$33 for a whole pie (10 slices); S$3.30 a slice, and their chocolate tarts similarly costing S$6 for five pieces.

Isn’t it awkward for both rival businesses to be located right next to each other? Ee Hsing noted that this wasn’t exactly an intentional decision.

“We did not originally plan to (open our business next to Dona Manis), but it just so happened our unit used to belong to ice cream shop Humble Scoop, which closed down. So we decided to take over the unit,” he explained.

He added: “We didn’t take it up immediately but three months later, it’s as if the shop (space) was waiting for us”.

Meanwhile, Esther admitted that while she was initially “surprised when (Auntie Peng Banana Pie) appeared next to us”, she went on to say: “It’s okay, people can go to whichever shop they want to buy from, there’s enough room for the banana pies to go around”.

Auntie Peng Banana Pie is at #B1-92 Katong Shopping Centre, 865 Mountbatten Rd, Singapore 437844. Open Mon – Sat 9am – 6pm; Sun 9am – 3pm. Tel: 8088 9639. More info via Facebook.

This story was originally published in 8days.