Beloved Madeleine’s Original Portuguese Egg Tarts returns thanks to new Gen Z owners
When 18-year-old Vernice Olivia Ong’s mother asked her to make egg tarts, the teen’s first thought was: “My mummy is hungry.”
Little did she know that her mum was thinking of something bigger. Way bigger. Like, bring-a-beloved-F&B-brand-back-from-the-dead big.
Today, Vernice is one of the faces behind the revival of Madeleine’s Original Portuguese Egg Tarts.
The nostalgic brand first won fans in Singapore back in 1998. However, it closed in August 2024 after more than 25 years of operations.
Madeleine’s original Tanjong Katong shop, which closed in August 2024.
Source: @madeleinesoriginal on Instagram
Together with her 22-year-old brother Zac, their parents, an investor, and a team of culinary professionals, she has helped bring the brand back as a modern Macau cha chaan teng-inspired café at Aperia Mall.
‘It’s quite intimidating’: Facing the pressure of reviving a beloved Singapore brand
Breathing new life into a beloved F&B institution would be a formidable undertaking for even the most battle-hardened restaurateur, let alone someone barely old enough to order a cocktail.
“It’s quite intimidating,” Vernice admitted to MS News. “Me and my brother are still quite young, and there are a lot of expectations.”
Much of that weight comes from knowing just how much Madeleine’s means to Singaporeans who grew up with the brand.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of people say they’re excited Madeleine’s is coming back because they’ve been eating it since they were younger,” she said, before letting out a nervous laugh. “The pressure is real.”
That feeling became especially tangible during the café’s soft launch period, when longtime Madeleine’s devotees began streaming through the doors ahead of its official opening on 21 June.
Many returned hoping to taste the same flaky, fragrant Portuguese egg tarts they grew up with.
In fact, the café sold out its first batch of egg tarts during the soft launch, a sign Vernice found encouraging.
While feedback has generally been positive, patrons have not shied away from pointing out when something feels different.
“They’ll say it’s good, but not exactly the same. We’re still trying our best to improve.”
Working hard to get the tarts’ shape and taste exactly right
Recreating a decades-old recipe is definitely much harder than it sounds.
Before Madeleine’s came into the picture, Vernice’s baking experience was largely limited to cakes and cookies after picking up the hobby during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Portuguese egg tarts, however, proved to be an entirely different challenge.
“The first time was very messy,” she recalled with a laugh. “I had no baking skill at all when it came to egg tarts.”
To help preserve the brand’s heritage, Madeleine’s original owners personally trained Vernice at the central kitchen.
While grateful for the opportunity, she said the first lesson felt a little like being thrown into the deep end.
“I was really confused. Everything was moving very fast, and I couldn’t properly understand which part would go into which part,” she said. “There were a lot of ingredients and a lot of methods. I had to keep writing everything down, then go home and study it all over again before practising.”
One of the toughest parts has been getting the tart shells just right.
“I have to mould each egg tart individually by hand, and they all have to be the same, all prim and proper,” Vernice said. “It’s very hard to replicate them all 100%.”
Still, her efforts appear to be paying off. One piece of feedback from the original owners particularly stuck with her: they told her she had picked up the craft much faster than many of their previous employees.
That vote of confidence meant a lot to Vernice. “Because of that, they’re quite comfortable leaving the egg tart-making to me,” she beamed.
Running a café with her brother
Today, Vernice is the only person in the company who knows how to make Madeleine’s Portuguese egg tarts from start to finish.
She hopes to train someone else eventually. For now though, the responsibility of recreating one of Singapore’s most nostalgic pastries rests squarely on the shoulders of an 18-year-old undergrad.
Thankfully, she’s not carrying the business alone.
While Vernice oversees the pastries, including the brand’s signature egg tarts and freshly baked buns, SHATEC-trained Zac handles the savoury side of the menu, from the café’s Macau-inspired comfort dishes to kitchen operations.
Vernice and her brother Zac
Image courtesy of Brand Cellar
The arrangement sounds straightforward enough on paper. In reality, anyone with siblings would know that working with them comes with its fair share of friendly disputes.
“Since I’m doing pastries and he’s doing food, he’ll sometimes say I have it easier,” Vernice said with a laugh.
Her response, in true little-sister savagery, is to threaten to “stop making tarts for him”.
Bickering aside, the pair appear to have settled into their respective roles.
Through their parents, who are also F&B entrepreneurs, they were introduced to the investor behind Madeleine’s revival and given an opportunity that few people their age would ever experience.
That isn’t to say everyone was immediately convinced.
“When people find out our ages, they’re usually quite sceptical,” Vernice said. “I’m still schooling, so they’re not always confident about how much we can actually handle.”
Connecting with both old and young customers
Ironically, being young has also turned out to be one of her biggest advantages.
Vernice believes she can connect with both older customers who remember Madeleine’s from decades ago and younger diners discovering the brand for the first time.
“I can introduce the food and egg tarts to the older generation, especially because Madeleine’s has such a long history,” she said. “And I can also interact with younger people because they’re closer to my age.”
Juggling business and university
When Vernice isn’t playing a central role in reviving a heritage F&B brand, she’s still doing what most kids her age do: going to school.
She’s currently a second-year psychology student at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS).
This means her day typically starts in school before shifting gears into full-on tart mode.
Classes usually end around 3pm. By 4pm or so, she’s at the central kitchen, where she starts preparing the next day’s batch of pastries.
She often finishes only around 9pm or 10pm. Then comes homework.
Asked how she manages both school and the business, Vernice’s answer was simple: “I sleep very late.”
For now, she said she can still handle the juggle as long as her grades don’t start to slip.
While Vernice never set out to enter the F&B industry, she has found an unexpected way to apply her psychology studies to the café.
“It’s easier for me to read people,” she explained. “I can usually tell whether they like something or not, which helps me understand what we can improve and what we might need to tone down.”
Grab lunch and egg tarts at Madeleine’s Aperia Mall
As for diners, the only thing they need to read is the menu.
Madeleine’s new café sports comfy seats and a proper sit-down menu. This makes it a handy spot for office workers in the Kallang area looking for a casual lunch destination or afternoon tea break.
Of course, the star of the show remains the Original Portuguese Egg Tart (S$2.50), which is joined by newer creations such as the Gula Melaka Portuguese Egg Tart (S$2.80) and Po Tat a la Mode (S$3.80).
The menu has also expanded well beyond pastries, with affordable no-GST comfort dishes including the Pork Chop Bun (S$5.90), Pan-Roasted African Chicken (S$9.80), Minchee Rice (S$10.90), and Beef Stew Capellini (S$9.90).
Ultimately, Vernice hopes the new Madeleine’s will give longtime fans a taste of the nostalgia they’ve been missing.
“Madeleine’s has a very long history, and since we’re reviving the brand, a lot of people are really excited,” she said. “I really hope they like the effort I’m putting into it.”
To taste the comeback for yourself, here’s how to get to the café:
Madeleine’s Original Portuguese Egg Tarts
Address: 12 Kallang Avenue, Aperia Mall, #01-54, Singapore 339511
Opening hours: 11am – 8pm daily
Nearest MRT stations: Lavender & Bendemeer
Also read: Portuguese egg tart shop in Tanjong Katong to shutter on 16 Aug after 26 years
Portuguese egg tart shop in Tanjong Katong to shutter on 16 Aug after 26 years
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Featured image by MS News. Photography by Felicia Fun.
