Founder of Choi Heong Yuen Bakery. He opened the shop at No. 20 Rua do Tercena, Macau in 1935, built around the almond cake; his nephew Wong Wing Cheong later took over and refined the recipe, and in the 1980s the firm introduced Japanese automatic packaging machines that reshaped how Macau souvenirs were sold and presented.
The scent of an almond cake drifted out of Rua do Tercena in 1935 — and eighty years on, it is still the “taste of Macau” tourists recognise.
Wong Kit San is the founder of Choi Heong Yuen Bakery. On a Macau street corner in 1935 he opened a cake shop whose almond cake anchored a souvenir brand that survives today.
Profile
- Chinese Name: 黃結新
- English Name: Wong Kit San
- Birth year: c. 1905 (not firmly documented; estimated from age at founding; approximate)
- Region: Macao
- Domains: Business · Everyday life
- Industry: Souvenir food · Confectionery
- Subject type: Entrepreneur · Founder
Principal Roles
- Founder of Choi Heong Yuen Bakery
Background
In early-20th-century Macau, souvenir cakes were still largely the work of neighbourhood shops and hand production. Wong founded his business in that setting, choosing the traditional Cantonese almond cake as its core and setting Choi Heong Yuen’s direction.
Career
I. Opening on Rua do Tercena (1935)
In 1935 Wong founded Choi Heong Yuen Bakery at No. 20 Rua do Tercena, Macau, with the almond cake as its signature product.
II. The second generation refines it (1960s)
His nephew Wong Wing Cheong took over and changed the almond cake from fully ground almonds to larger retained pieces, sharpening the texture into the “Choi-heong cake” and reinforcing the brand’s identity.
III. Japanese packaging machines (1980s)
After studying in Japan, the firm introduced fully automatic individual-packaging machines, turning loose cakes into individually sealed, portable, giftable products and changing how Macau souvenirs were marketed.
Defining Moments
- Settling the almond cake: The shift from ground to pieced almonds defined Choi Heong Yuen’s distinctive texture.
- The packaging revolution: The 1980s automatic packaging machines moved Macau souvenirs from “buy and eat now” to “carry and gift”.