Feature by Camy Tam
On my way to work in January this reporter was attracted to a cake shop, Sam’s Workshop, by its chic and cosy feel. I was greeted by a charming lady by the name of Sam Chan Pak Sa, the owner of the shop, and she patiently introduced each product to me. I have been trying a few types of her cakes and desserts for a few months and I thought that I would like to know her better.
Sam was delighted to share her “sweet” story with The Macau Post Daily late last month. She said that as all her family are fond of cakes and desserts she started baking when she was in middle school, initially just for fun as gifts for friends and relatives.
Sam studied e-commerce at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) and also enrolled in a Diploma in Pastry and Bakery course in Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) between 2002 and 2008.
After graduating from IPM in 2004, Sam did some clerical work but was keen to find more opportunities to learn baking. She worked for a popular bakery chain in Taiwan called Yannick for about six months in 2005.
Afterwards, Sam decided to get into baking as a career which she loves and is passionate about.
In 2010, Sam started to run a cafeteria at the Sheng Kung Hui Taipa Youth and Family Integrated Service Centre in Taipa and taught baking classes there as well.
Sam told The Macau Post Daily that she has been getting busier in both her bakery business and family life, taking care of her young children, adding that she has been lacking rest time.
Sam likes painting too and is particularly fond of drawing flowers during her precious “leisure time”. She showed me a painting which she did on her day off on May 1 which reveals her talent in art, and her affection for flowers.
Sam noted she has never taken any art classes but just self-taught herself from online videos. She said: “Painting actually helps my profession as I can be more creative and it gives me inspiration, and the process of learning from different teachers in the bakery industry also keeps improving my designs and product skills as well as self-exploration.”
As Sam loves flowers so much, she took a “flower art course” in Hong Kong in 2016, and after the course, she decided to travel to Seoul that year, for a Korean style piping art workshop taught by a well-known South Korean artist, Kim Yoon Hee, who specialises in flower buttercream piping art.
In 2017, Sam started an online cake shop called “Js Bakery” after she finished the workshop in Seoul. Sam used “Js” because her family members’ English names all start with J.
During the time she ran her three-year online business, Sam mainly made flower cakes except for special requests, as well as continuing her exploration of making new products. In 2018 before the Chinese New Year (CNY), she made Chinese egg yolk pastries inspired by the traditional ones, as CNY gifts for her relatives and friends, and unexpectedly, these pastries now have become one of the most popular and signature products in her shop.
Appreciation drives Sam to move on – Sam’s Workshop
Sam was happy to share some of her experiences, such as one of her Hong Kong customers who came to Macau for a friend’s birthday party and enjoyed eating her cake so much that she ordered a cake and paid ferry tickets for delivery from Macau to Hong Kong, and had someone pick it up at the Shun Tak ferry terminal.
Some customers liked her cakes so much that they took them by aeroplane to the mainland.
Sam also has fans like this reporter and others who like her products so much that we have become regular customers appreciating her passion for baking.
All this appreciation serves as a strong motivation for Sam to move on.
She decided to open a brick-and-mortar shop, aptly called “Sam’s Workshop”, in Rua do Tap Siac and started business on January 6 this year, believing that it was the “right time” to get it off the ground.
Sam puts sesame seeds on freshly baked egg yolk pastries (after having been requested by The Macau Post Daily to take off her facemask for a short moment) yesterday.
This photo taken yesterday shows Sam’s Workshop.
The photo taken late last month shows Sam’s signature product – flower cake done by piping art. Photos: Camy Tam
Hit by COVID-19 epidemic
Sam said, “At the beginning of this “right time”, my business was hit hard by the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic after the Chinese New Year, in February and March in particular, but fortunately it was getting better in April and May since some old customers came back, and new customers began to know me”, she said.
The Macau Post Daily discovered a piece of pertinent advice on her Facebook page to overcome challenges:
“When you come to realisation and stop trying to control the uncontrollable, you embrace impermanence”.
Sam’s products are definitely a fusion of art, taste and aroma. It’s not only her adherence to selecting high-end ingredients, but that she bakes with her soul, respect, passion, creativity and endless efforts which make her products different.
Bakery workshops
“My ultimate goal is to run workshops in the near future and share [my passion] with enthusiasts, which is even more meaningful to me. Many customers and friends are interested in learning baking from me”, she said late last month.
“I took my first step [of running workshops] last Friday by shooting a video of one of my signature products – chiffon cake, and uploaded it to YouTube”, she told The Macau Post Daily yesterday.
Sam’s charming personality, devotion and willingness to learn and explore may serve as a shining example to all those eager to set up their own business even under rather adverse circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not “magic” what she does, but it’s rather a “magnet” from her inner self.
When you want to add some colour to your life, take a tea break at Sam’s Workshop, 9A, Rua do Tap Siac, Macau (behind the Central Library in Praça do Tap Seac)
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 12 noon to 7 p.m.
Tel. 2886 8885 or visit Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JsBakeryMacao/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UhoWdwcp_WtBWMgYfokHA
