Garden Bakery Hall
The Garden Company of Hong Kong
Garden bread is a memory shared by generations in Hong Kong. Many Hong Kong people have eaten Garden products every day since childhood — Life Bread, “Si Si Sik” (時時食) biscuits, Swiss rolls, chiffon cakes and more have become part of Hong Kong’s history and culture. In 1926, two cousins with a keen sense of the market sat in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in Central discussing plans to open a bakery, hoping to catch the rising fashion for Western cakes and biscuits. Those cousins — Mr Cheung Tsz-fong (張子芳) and Mr Wong Wah-ngok (黃華岳) — were the founders of the Garden Company, and the name “Garden” itself was chosen to mark the gardens where they talked over their plan.
1927-1941
Garden’s first retail shop opened in 1927 on Des Voeux Road Central.
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, Garden set a record by producing 90,000 kilograms of biscuits and baked goods for the troops, running twenty-four hours a day for seven days without stopping.
During the Second World War, Garden supplied the Hong Kong government with large quantities of highly nutritious, long-keeping air-raid-shelter and military biscuits.
Garden’s factory on Castle Peak Road was completed in 1938. Originally a two-storey building, it went through repeated extensions and demolitions before two more floors were added in 1959, creating today’s Garden Centre.
In 1941 the Japanese army occupied the Garden factory, and production was forced to a halt.
1945-1956
Upon the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945, Garden promptly reclaimed its factory and resumed production.
With supplies short after the war, Garden was appointed by the Hong Kong government as a distribution centre, producing bread and biscuits in line with the government’s fixed-price and rationing policies. The official price at the time was fifty cents a pound, and Garden’s products, hailed as fine in quality and low in price, proved hugely popular.
In 1951, Garden supplied bread and biscuits to the British forces then in Hong Kong.
During the “Double Tenth” riots of 1956, when widespread clashes broke out around Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan, Garden’s factory on Castle Peak Road was repeatedly attacked and set alight, forcing a three-month halt in production.
1960-now
“Life Bread” was launched in 1960.
“Si Si Sik” (時時食) biscuits were launched in 1979.
Garden once produced a mooncake weighing 400 pounds and measuring two metres across for the 1986 Hong Kong Food Festival.
Garden’s factory on Castle Peak Road in Sham Shui Po has become a local landmark, and in March 2018 it was listed as a Grade II historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board. The hilltop nearby, which overlooks the Garden Centre, has in recent years been dubbed “Garden Hill” by the public.
In 2018 the Town Planning Board approved a redevelopment plan for the Garden Centre, but required that after redevelopment the clock on the original clock tower, the two “master baker” emblems facing Kowloon Road and Castle Peak Road respectively, and the brand logo bearing the English word “Garden” all be preserved.
Garden’s firsts
• The first local food company to use waxed-paper packaging, keeping Life Bread fresh and hygienic at all times
• The first local food company to use colour printing for its promotional posters
• The first company to package mooncakes in tin gift boxes
• The first local bread manufacturer to enter the mainland Chinese market
Sources: garden.com.hk
https://peacesail.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/深井嘉頓展覽館/
Visiting the Garden factory
Every year from mid-June to the end of August, Garden runs factory-visit activities: an introduction to the Garden Company, its products and the bread production process, tours of the factory and exhibition hall, making your own bread and sandwiches, quiz games, 3D photo experiences and more. Primary school pupils are welcome, with visits generally arranged through schools or organisations.
Venue: Garden Sham Tseng Factory, 1-11 Sham Tsz Street, Sham Tseng, New Territories, Hong Kong
Source: http://www.garden.com.hk/cht/related-links-plant-visit
Published in Aug 2020 by Hong Kong Brand Museum 香港品牌博物館