Pullman Bakery at Millenia Walk

One thing great about Singapore is that there is always something new to get excited about. This time it’s the opening of a new bakery at Millenia Walk.

The bread here looks so enticing and it was a lucky thing I was full or I would have not been able to resist. Sweet bread is my affliction. Try as I might I just can’t quit you!

I think Candy Empire used to be in this spot which is opposite the Outback Steakhouse, but it was always empty and seemed pretty dismal. In Singapore business is hard and rentals are high and keep increasing whether you do well or not. Anyway it looks like Pullman Bakery took over.

Pullman Bakery is a famous bakery from Hokkaido in Japan. It’s most famous for it’s curry bun which I must try the next time I come here. All I know is that the Japanese do everything well and in particular bread and pastries.

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

This was a description I fished out from a job advert by Pullman Singapore looking for bakers and cashiers.

Pullman Bakery (previously known as Tachihara Bakery) first started in 1978 in Enbetsu town of Teshio Province in Hokkaido. Mrs. Tachihara Sumiko (Director) had a passion for baking homemade breads during her free time, so she decided to set up a bakery.

The bakery received an overwhelming response from its customers after it opened. Mr. Tachihara Kazuomi (Chairman of Pullman Bakery) decided to quit his job to hone his baking skills in Tokyo before joining her to manage the bakery. The following year, they opened their second shop in Haboro Town.

In 1986, both Mr. and Mrs. Tachihara decided upon sharing their delicious breads with even more people. With that in mind, they set up a new bakery branch named “Pullman Bakery” in Sapporo, City of Hokkaido.

With strong competition from other establishments, they placed all their efforts into research, aiming to bake more delicious bread for their customers. This caused the business to gain popularity and eventually become reputable among its customers which led them to be interviewed by Sapporo’s Television and Radio Media.

In year 1995 to 1996, Mr. Tachihara Kazuomi was invited to participate in the Japan’s Bun Championship from the popular Tokyo television programme, “TV Champion” and he won for two consecutive years.

It was Pullman Bakery’s very first time participating in the Hokkaido Fair at Shinjuku Isetan Main Branch’s, which proved to be a resounding success. Ever since then, they were honored to be invited to participate in Hokkaido Fair Japan in all major departmental stores’ annually.

In recent years, Pullman Bakery has also gathered the support from overseas, with invitations to participate Hokkaido Fairs held in foreign countries like America, Hong Kong, Thailand and even Singapore.

Pullman Bakery
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-97/98 Millenia Walk S039596

I checked about Candy Empire and they are still open at VivoCity, Changi Airport Terminal 3 and Triple One Somerset, so we don’t need to feel too bad for them. I used to love that we could get certain chocolates and jelly beans that we couldn’t get anywhere else, but the store hasn’t seemed to have made any improvements since they first burst onto the scene.