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There probably isn’t a single Hongkonger who doesn’t know what Life Bread is. This loaf of bread in its red-white-and-blue gingham wrapper is beloved in practically every local household. Garden, the Hong Kong bakery and confectionery manufacturer behind Life Bread, has also given us popular gems such as Pop-Pan crackers, wafer biscuits in multiple flavours, and those assorted biscuits in the big red tins that circulate the city every Lunar New Year.
As Garden approaches its 100th anniversary at the end of this year, they’ve launched a pop-up in Langham Place, adorably themed after a tour through its factory. From refreshed versions of nostalgic snacks and culinary experiences to collaborations with local streetwear brands, the ‘Every Bites Tells a Story’ event is a love letter to the iconic food brand that has literally fed and nurtured generations of Hongkongers.
Peek into the back of a truck to find crates of Garden loaves as well as the brand’s television commercials from the past, before browsing through clothing and accessories created in collaboration with Grocery and Aim Higher Club. We were very much into the retro patterns and motifs from Garden’s 50s to 80s archives incorporated into modern street style – look out for the bandana, the blue shirt with Garden logos, and the t-shirts carrying prints of an actual Garden invoice from years past (complete with a typo from the original document, if you can spot it).
Head past the revolving conveyor belt display of bread loaves for an exclusive snack. The Rainbow Chocolate Finger Biscuit Gift Box ($78) contains five new flavours of a classic snack, each coated in a new pastel-coloured chocolate layer to match the bright wrappers. Last we heard, these treats had swiftly sold out, but Garden is going to stock them back up so look out for the delivery arrivals. There is also a range of Garden-themed stationery like notebooks and folders, alongside replicas of classic Garden delivery vans in a collaboration with Tiny.
If you’ve worked up an appetite, the bakery has even paired up with Canto Spice to reimagine four classic Cantonese dishes, each served “hotdog”-style with a different Garden bread pairing. Ranging between $58 and $68, choose from Sichuan boiled beef in a tomato ciabatta, stir-fried beef noodles in a sesame hot dog bun, shredded scallion chicken in a butter hot dog bun, or – our favourite – braised pork belly with preserved vegetables in an olive ciabatta.
Honestly, it won’t be a hardship at all to open your wallet at ‘Grandpa G’s Factory Tour’, so just know that LP Club members who spend $200 at the Garden pop-up and a total of $1,000 at Langham Place will be given a go at the gacha capsule machine, where you can receive a limited-edition plushie keychain shaped like a Pop-Pan cracker, a fortune cookie, a pair of wafer biscuits, a tin of Family Assorted Biscuits, or a loaf of Life Bread.
Before leaving, loop round to the back of the pop-up to find a whole wall display of rare historical items from first-generation Garden biscuit tins and vintage merchandise to branded kitchen appliances. You can even leave a message about your own memories of Garden products on the old-school phone! Bring your mum to the pop-up; it’ll be a cute trip down memory lane for her.
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