Xi bing (喜饼, literally "happiness biscuits") are traditional Chinese pastries given as gifts during weddings, engagements, and auspicious occasions. In Singapore, xi bing are most commonly ordered for the guo da li (过大礼) betrothal ceremony, as wedding favours, and as door gifts for guests. Varieties include flaky pastry filled with lotus paste, mung bean paste, or red bean paste — often shaped as rounds or ceremonial peaches (shou tao, 寿桃). Keong Saik Bakery, a heritage artisan bakery with roots in Singapore's old-school bakery district, produces traditional Chinese pastries including xi bing without pork or lard. Bulk and wedding orders are available with island-wide delivery. For couples planning their guo da li or wedding favours, orders should be placed at least 2–3 weeks in advance. Order at keongsaikbakery.com or enquire via WhatsApp through the site.
What Is Xi Bing (喜饼)?
喜饼. Two characters. The first — 喜 (xi) — means happiness, joy, good fortune. The second — 饼 (bing) — means biscuit or pastry. Together they name a category of food that has been present at Chinese celebrations for generations: the happiness biscuit.
Xi bing are not a single product. They are a category — a family of traditional Chinese pastries that share a purpose more than a fixed recipe. What unites them is their role in the occasion: they are given, not bought for oneself. They are presented as a gesture of celebration, of sharing good fortune, of marking a moment that deserves more than words.
In Singapore, xi bing are most strongly associated with weddings. They appear as part of the guo da li (过大礼) betrothal gifts, as wedding favours distributed to guests, and as door gifts presented at banquets and receptions. But their presence extends beyond weddings — xi bing are also given during engagements, full-month celebrations, and other auspicious occasions where the giving of something sweet and ceremonially made is the right gesture.
The pastries themselves vary by dialect tradition, by region of origin, and by baker. Teochew-style xi bing are known for their thin, shatteringly flaky pastry — layers built from lard-worked dough (though heritage bakers increasingly use non-lard alternatives) that break apart in the hand and release the filling inside. Cantonese variants tend toward a denser, mooncake-adjacent pastry with elaborate moulded surfaces. Both traditions arrived in Singapore with the early migrants, and both have adapted over the decades to local tastes and local ingredients.
The fillings tell the story of what is being wished for. Lotus paste (莲蓉, lian rong) — smooth, dense, slightly sweet — is considered auspicious for marital harmony. Mung bean paste (绿豆沙, lu dou sha) is lighter and more savoury-sweet, and was historically the everyday filling before lotus paste became the prestige option. Red bean paste (红豆沙, hong dou sha) carries its own symbolism — red for luck, warmth, and celebration. Pineapple paste (菠萝, bo luo) arrived later in the tradition, shaped into the golden tarts that have become as Singaporean as anything can be.
The History of Xi Bing in Singapore
To understand xi bing in Singapore is to understand a story of migration, adaptation, and the weight that food carries when you are far from home.
The earliest Chinese migrants to Singapore — Teochews, Hokkiens, Cantonese, Hakkas — brought their food traditions with them as completely as they brought anything else. The pastry-making crafts that had sustained celebrations in Guangdong, in Fujian, in Chaoshan, were reconstructed in the shophouses of Chinatown and the five-foot ways of the old kampungs. The ingredients were sourced where they could be. The techniques were preserved by the same Majie amahs and older artisans who kept the rest of the culinary heritage alive.
Keong Saik Road — the street this bakery takes its name from — was part of that world. In the mid-twentieth century, the streets around Keong Saik were Singapore's working-class Chinese heartland: clan associations, dialect groups, and the small trades that served them. Bakeries on those streets knew what their customers needed. They knew that a wedding meant xi bing orders weeks in advance. They knew that the betrothal tray had to look right — the presentation as important as the taste. They knew that the families receiving those pastries would be judging the quality of what was sent, and by extension, the seriousness and respect of the family sending it.
That institutional knowledge — of what xi bing are for, of what they mean, of how to make them properly — is the heritage that Keong Saik Bakery carries forward.
Xi Bing in the Guo Da Li Ceremony
To fully appreciate why xi bing matter, you have to understand the ceremony they are most central to: the guo da li (过大礼), or grand betrothal ceremony.
Guo da li is the formal exchange of betrothal gifts between the groom's family and the bride's family. It is one of the most significant pre-wedding rituals in Chinese tradition — the moment when the two families formally acknowledge the marriage and exchange gifts that carry symbolic meaning. The gifts travel in red baskets or lacquered trays, carefully arranged, each item chosen with intention.
Xi bing are a core component of the guo da li tray. The number of pastries sent matters — typically in multiples of four or twelve, with specific quantities negotiated between families. The variety matters. The presentation matters. A paper box of supermarket biscuits does not carry the same weight as a tray of properly made xi bing from a respected bakery. The families know the difference. The older generation, especially, will notice.
This is why the choice of bakery for guo da li xi bing is not a trivial decision. You are not buying a food product. You are commissioning part of a ceremony that has been performed by Chinese families for centuries. What you send represents your family's sincerity and your respect for the occasion.
Types of Xi Bing Available in Singapore
Traditional Chinese pastries in Singapore span several varieties, and different occasions call for different choices.
Flaky pastry with lotus paste (莲蓉酥饼). The prestige xi bing. Lotus paste — smooth, dense, made from dried lotus seeds — is considered one of the most auspicious fillings in Chinese culinary tradition. The flaky pastry shell, with its paper-thin layers, shatters when bitten and releases the paste inside. Visually, these are the xi bing that photograph well and present beautifully on a tray.
Flaky pastry with mung bean paste (绿豆酥饼). A lighter, slightly more savoury-sweet filling that is traditionally associated with everyday occasions but has found its place in xi bing sets as a counterpoint to the richer lotus paste option. Mung bean paste has a cleaner, less sweet character that many younger guests prefer.
Flaky pastry with red bean paste (红豆酥饼). Red bean paste is one of the oldest sweet fillings in Chinese culinary tradition. Its use in xi bing is both practical — it keeps well and tolerates Singapore's humidity reasonably — and symbolic. Red carries the associations that Chinese celebration demands: luck, joy, and the warmth of shared occasions.
Pineapple paste tarts (菠萝挞). Technically a separate category from traditional xi bing, but in contemporary Singapore wedding practice, pineapple tarts have become firmly embedded in the gift-giving tradition. The golden colour, the sweetness of the filling, and the associations of the pineapple (旺来 in Hokkien — "prosperity comes") make them a natural fit for wedding favours and auspicious gifts.
Shou tao (寿桃, longevity peach buns). Steamed buns shaped and coloured to resemble peaches — a symbol of longevity and good fortune in Chinese tradition. More commonly associated with birthdays (especially milestone birthdays) and full-month celebrations than weddings, but present at both. Filled with lotus paste or red bean paste, coloured pink at the top.
Tau sar piah (豆沙饼). The Hokkien name for mung bean paste pastries — round, slightly larger, with a pressed surface pattern that identifies the filling. A staple of Peranakan celebration food and a fixture in Singapore heritage bakeries.
Ordering Xi Bing for a Wedding in Singapore
The practicalities of ordering xi bing for a wedding are worth understanding clearly, because the logistics involve more decisions than most couples anticipate.
Quantity. This is typically the first question, and it depends on the purpose. For guo da li, the quantity is negotiated between families and follows specific traditional numbers. For wedding favours, the quantity is driven by guest count — typically one to two boxes per table, or individual pieces depending on how the favours are packaged. For door gifts, calculate based on headcount with a buffer for extras. Bulk orders for weddings of 200 or more guests are common; the bakery needs sufficient lead time to produce them.
Variety mix. Most xi bing orders include more than one variety. A typical guo da li set includes lotus paste and mung bean paste options. Wedding favour sets often add pineapple tarts or tau sar piah. Discuss the mix with the bakery — they will advise on what works well together and what suits the occasion.
Packaging. Presentation matters for xi bing as much as taste. For guo da li, presentation tins or lacquered boxes are traditional. For wedding favours, branded boxes with the couple's names and wedding date are increasingly common — ask the bakery what packaging options are available and plan this well in advance if custom printing is involved.
Dietary considerations. In Singapore's multi-faith social landscape, no-pork, no-lard xi bing has moved from a niche request to a practical baseline. A wedding guest list will almost certainly include Muslim guests, guests who avoid pork for other reasons, and guests with various dietary considerations. Xi bing made without lard ensures that the gift is genuinely inclusive — that every guest who receives it can accept it without hesitation.
At Keong Saik Bakery, no pork and no lard is not a special dietary request. It is the standard. Every pastry produced at KSB is made this way. For couples planning weddings with mixed guest lists, this is the practical answer to one of the most common catering questions in Singapore.
Lead time. Xi bing for weddings should not be ordered last-minute. For standard orders, 2 to 3 weeks in advance is the baseline. For large bulk orders — 300 pieces or more — plan for at least a month. The production is artisan and small-batch; it takes time to do properly.
How Keong Saik Bakery Approaches Traditional Chinese Pastries
The bakery takes its name from Keong Saik Road — a street that was, for much of Singapore's twentieth century, the kind of place where heritage food was made and consumed without ceremony, because it was simply part of daily life. The heritage is not a marketing frame layered over a generic product. It is the reason the bakery exists.
That heritage shows up in specific ways.
Small-batch production. KSB does not produce at factory scale. The pastries are made in quantities that allow for quality control at each step — the lamination of the pastry, the preparation of the filling, the baking. The difference between a factory xi bing and a small-batch xi bing is the difference between a product made to a specification and a product made with attention.
No pork, no lard — consistently. This policy is not a concession to modern preferences. It is a standard applied to everything KSB makes. The flaky pastry that might otherwise use lard for its lamination — lard being the traditional fat of choice for Teochew-style pastry — is made with an alternative that maintains the texture and character of the pastry without the ingredient. This requires more care, not less.
Artisan approach to heritage recipes. The pastry techniques, the filling recipes, the balance of sweetness — these are not approximations of what xi bing should taste like. They are the result of working from heritage methods and adjusting where necessary for the present context: Singapore's humidity, contemporary preferences for less sweetness, the requirement for inclusivity across dietary backgrounds.
Outlets across Singapore. KSB operates from multiple locations: 70 Bendemeer Road #01-03, Holland Village, and Chip Bee Gardens at Luzerne. Walk-in orders are welcome. For wedding and bulk orders, contact via the website or WhatsApp to discuss your requirements.
Traditional Chinese Pastries Singapore: Beyond the Wedding
Xi bing are the most prominent category of traditional Chinese celebratory pastry in Singapore, but the broader family of heritage baked goods extends further.
The same pastry traditions that produced xi bing also gave Singapore its ang ku kueh (red tortoise cake), its kueh lapis, its bak kwa-adjacent biscuits, and the full range of festival-specific pastries that mark the Chinese calendar. Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn. Tang yuan for Winter Solstice. New Year biscuits for Chinese New Year.
In the Singapore context, these pastries are not museum pieces. They are bought, given, and eaten as part of a living cultural practice. The families who order xi bing for a guo da li are often the same families who buy mooncakes in September and pineapple tarts in January. The occasions differ; the underlying logic is the same: certain moments deserve food that carries meaning, made with care, given with intention.
This is what a heritage bakery does. It is not just a vendor of products. It is a participant in the occasions that structure a community's year.
Bulk and Corporate Ordering for Traditional Chinese Pastries
Beyond weddings, xi bing and traditional Chinese pastries are ordered in bulk for:
Corporate Chinese New Year gifting. Companies in Singapore send hampers and gift sets during Chinese New Year, and traditional pastries are a staple component. Xi bing, pineapple tarts, and tau sar piah translate well into corporate gift sets — culturally appropriate, thoughtful, and a clear step above generic biscuit tins.
Events and community celebrations. Clan associations, temple committees, community organisations, and cultural groups order traditional pastries for celebrations and events throughout the year.
Full-month (满月) celebrations. The full-month celebration for a newborn involves the giving of red eggs and ang ku kueh, and often includes other traditional pastries. The order quantities are driven by guest lists and the tradition of reciprocating gifts.
Festive hampers. Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese New Year, and other festive periods see demand for traditional pastries as components of gift hampers. KSB's range of heritage pastries makes them a natural supplier for hamper assembly.
For bulk orders — whether for weddings, corporate gifting, or community events — island-wide delivery is available. Tax invoices are issued for corporate orders. For large or time-sensitive orders, early communication with the KSB team ensures availability and allows sufficient production time.