In 2020, during Singapore’s Circuit Breaker lockdown, Amelia Teh and her husband started selling homemade carrot cake from their home in Yishun. More than six years later, long after the restrictions lifted, Amelia’s Carrot Cake is still running from that same home, and the cakes are still coming out of the steamer.
A quick note for anyone picturing cream cheese frosting: in Singapore, “carrot cake” usually means the steamed radish cake known as chai tow kway. Amelia’s own note on her photos calls it radish cake, so set your expectations to savoury, not sweet.
Amelia answered our questions in writing, and every quote below comes from those answers.
How It Started
Before the pandemic, Amelia and her husband worked in events-related design and printing. When the Circuit Breaker hit, that work was badly affected, and the couple needed another way forward.
They chose something they already knew. Amelia told us in written answers that they “decided to start selling our homemade carrot cake, something we were already familiar with making at home.” It’s a sensible choice, and an unglamorous one. They didn’t chase a trendy lockdown bake. They sold the dish their family already made well.
Mothership documented the business’s beginnings in December 2020, when it was one of many home kitchens trying to stay afloat. Since then the menu has grown well beyond radish cake. It now covers pumpkin cake, yam cake, glutinous rice, traditional dumplings and desserts, which is roughly the line-up you’d hope for at a family gathering.
A Week at Home
So what does a home food business look like in its seventh year?
Before anything reaches a customer, there’s the ingredient prep, the cooking itself, customer enquiries, packing, and arranging collections or deliveries. What gets made depends on the orders that come in. One week might lean towards carrot cake, another towards yam cake or dumplings.
The calendar matters too. During Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, Amelia says the focus shifts to the traditional foods tied to each celebration. In a household like this, festive seasons mean more cooking, not time off.
Amelia doesn’t romanticise any of it. “Being home-based doesn’t mean there’s less work,” she told us. “There are many things to manage beyond cooking, and maintaining the quality of our food is something we take seriously.”
What Changed
Lockdown businesses were often treated as a stopgap. You started one to get by, then went back to normal when things reopened. Amelia’s answer to what changed most is the reason this story is worth telling.
“I think the biggest change is that this is no longer just something we started because of the pandemic,” she told us. When restrictions lifted and businesses reopened, she and her husband kept making and selling. Over time, the emergency plan became their life.
“Looking back, it’s quite meaningful that something which began during such a difficult period is still part of our lives more than six years later,” Amelia added.
Her Advice
Thinking of turning your signature dish into a side business? Amelia has a clear warning first: “don’t underestimate the amount of effort involved just because you’re operating from home. Cooking something for your family and preparing food consistently for paying customers are very different responsibilities.”
Her practical advice is plain and worth taking seriously. Start with something you’re confident making, then focus on quality. Be honest with customers about what you can provide. She names food hygiene, consistency and good communication as the things that matter most, and she suggests beginning with what you can comfortably manage instead of promising more than you can deliver.
Her last point is about patience. “Building trust takes time,” she told us, “and I believe that matters more than trying to grow too quickly.” It fits the story. This is a Yishun kitchen that grew one tray at a time and, six years on, still answers to the same family.
Six years after the Circuit Breaker, Amelia’s Carrot Cake is still going, with more dishes, the same home in Yishun, and festive seasons that keep getting busier. She signed off her answers with “Thank you again for your interest in our family’s story,” and that’s the best way to read it.
How to Order
Amelia’s Carrot Cake takes enquiries and orders through its public Facebook page, and shares food updates on Instagram at @amelia_carrot_cake. It’s a home-based business in Yishun, and self-collection there is by prior appointment only, so message the page first to arrange an order.
Photos courtesy of Amelia’s Carrot Cake.
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