Do you recall the good old days when you’d visit your school bookshop to buy some sweets or snacks? Biscuit King along Upper Thompson Road sells all of these traditional biscuits, sweets and snacks, even offering some old-school games.
Even before you enter the store, the exterior will send you back to the ’90s, with the number of old-school items and washed-out newspaper clippings on display.
There’s a panel that’s dedicated to featuring the super old stuff, some of which I can’t even recognize. Seeing all of it — the paper ball, pick-up sticks, popping candies, especially those M&M’s look-alikes — really brings back an indescribable sense of nostalgia.
Inside the shop, the stocks are lined neatly according to their categories — sweets, preserved fruits, biscuits and more.
The assorted biscuits are stored in these traditional biscuit kongs (containers) that your Ah Ma and Ah Gong used to stash their cash in. The old-school biscuits are stacked atop each other with their respective prices on the tins.
Apart from the biscuit tins, some treats are packed into bags and priced individually. This makes it perfect for sharing with your friends or family at a gathering.
I got one of these to munch on when I’m binging on my favourite TV shows.
If you’re the kind that doesn’t like to share, they also have the option of a personal tub that you can keep all for yourself and munch on.
Growing up, these were one of my favourite treats. I always looked forward to visiting my grandma because she would always offer me a colourful bag of Iced Gems Biscuits (S$2.50).
To me, the only way to eat those sugary treats is to slowly bite off the bright-coloured icing, then consume the biscuit part.
In a little corner, something caught my eye: Magic Dust Popping Candy (S$0.60).
At one point, these were the ‘in’ thing and it blew the minds of young children like myself. As soon as you pour some of that powdered glucose in your mouth, you’ll start hearing popping sounds and it’ll feel like there’s a mini explosion happening in your mouth, leaving a berry aftertaste.
On the other side of the store, the vibrant colours of the sweet wrappers were visible through the transparent containers they’re displayed in. You can mix and match the sweets, which only cost S$1.50 for 100g.
Pack your choice of sweets in a clear bag that they provide. You can weigh your bag of sugary treats on a weighing machine at the counter.
After walking around for some time, trying hard to decide what I should get, I caved in and bought these Potato Wheel Crackers (S$2). Salty, crunchy, light and airy, these are Kryptonite to me.
Shaped like Fruit Loops, the Toasted Seaweed Rings (S$2) has more of a faint seaweed flavour and is not as briny as the Potato Wheel Crackers.
These bag of Ice Pops (S$2.50) are almost essential, with the Singapore sun constantly beating down on us. Simply pop the entire bag in your freezer and wait for it to chill so you can enjoy them on a hot day.
This is the selection of old-school sweets that made up my 100g bag. Even though some of the sweets can still be found easily elsewhere, there are certain sweets that I haven’t seen and would’ve forgotten about it if I didn’t visit Biscuit King.
Out of all the sweets, the one that takes me back the most would be the Kreiten’s Chocomint Toffees and Almond Toffees.
Truth be told, I nearly forgot I was ever addicted to these mint toffees until I saw them in the container. As you can tell from my selection of sweets, I prefer minty flavours in my sweets.
How could I have forgotten the best of them all? This is how easily the old-school treats can slip from the crevice of our memories if we no longer see them around.
Even though while growing up I didn’t like these Haw Flakes (more commonly known as San Zhar), this sure brings back some memories.
Whenever I received a goodie bag from a party and one of these was in it, I would give them to my friend or sister in exchange for something else. I never understood why they liked it and I still don’t.
Remember these bad boys? Suck on one of these Moster Sweets and your tongue will turn a different shade. For more extreme colours, I recommend the blue one.
Back when we were more innocent and didn’t know the science behind it, we’d show off the colours on our tongues as if we were performing a magic trick.
Biscuit King not only sells these antiquated snacks but they also carry old-school games such as Old Maid, Donkey, Happy Family and Chapteh, just to name a few.
They even have the flag erasers that we used to play with. I’m sure you’ve challenged your friends in primary school, and whoever emerged as the winner got to keep both erasers. Those were definitely the good ol’ days.
If you ever feel like taking a trip down memory lane, pay Biscuit King a visit because you’d be surprised by the number of traditional stuff they have on sale. Share the taste of yesteryears to prevent them from being just a fragment of your memories.
Expected Damage: S$1.50 – S$5
Price: $
Our Rating: 5 / 5
Biscuit King
130 Casuarina Road, Singapore 579518
Biscuit King
130 Casuarina Road, Singapore 579518