Pastry Commander

Kitchen king: Ling Heming, son of Ling Qingxiang, making chestnut cakes in 1970s. [Photo provided to Shanghai Star]

In order to meet market demand, Kaisiling opened a 1,000-square-meter factory at No 50 of Shimen Er Road in 1956.

The flour supplied during the 1950s was not suitable for making cakes; instead, chefs at Kaisiling developed a special flour mixed with cornstarch, which made the cakes soft and delicious.

Chestnut cake is one of the most popular products made from this blended flour. Chestnuts are stir-fried, peeled, smashed and finally piped on a cake. The pastry is in the shape of a small round cake, and the contrast of light brown chestnut and fresh cream makes the cake pleasant for the eyes and the taste buds.

Throughout the years, chestnut cake has long been one of Kaisiling's star products.

A variety of cakes and pastry methods were developed by Ling in the 1960s, in an attempt to compile a specialized book about making Shanghai-style pastry.

The restaurant was empty during the "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976), because it was regarded as a symbol of bourgeois. Its name was even changed to the Kaige Food Factory for a while.

It wasn't until the end of the "Cultural Revolution" that the Western dim-sum maker managed to resume its core business as the city's major Western pastry maker, restoring its former name of Kaisiling.

In 1994, Kaisiling's headquarters, which was located on West Nanjing Road, expanded its store space twofold, introduced state-of-art equipment and upgraded its service. The renovation cost 8 million yuan ($1.3 million) in total.

The on-the-spot pastry making exhibition offered on the ground floor from 8 am to 1 am the next day, was hugely popular among customers. It also provided a wide range of Western cuisine services on the second floor, and an exotic café on the third floor.