A Filipino bakeshop,
one alley wide.

The sign over the door says it plainly

Together we can “bake” this world a better place.

That line is painted across the shopfront and it is the bio on the bakery’s Instagram account. It is not a slogan they keep in reserve for marketing: part of the proceeds from what the shop sells goes to the Zoe Children’s Home Foundation, which supports children in the Philippines who cannot afford school supplies.

Nearly every post the shop writes ends the same way — thanking the community, by name where they can. Dear friends and families, the posts begin. Maraming salamat po.

Three years on the alley

1. 18 February 2024First anniversary

   The shop marked a year on Fan Tan Alley with a buy-two-get-one on every bread and pastry, the delicacies included — leche flan, sapin-sapin and cassava cake — and a free blessing bag for the first eleven customers through the door. “We would never be able to make it without God and each and every one of you,” the post read.

2. 21 January 2025Back to serve you tomorrow

   After a stretch away, the team posted a thank-you for the messages, the calls and the patience — and a note that because of the community’s support, they were able to extend that support to the Philippines as well.

3. March 2026Third anniversary

   The community turned out for the shop’s third year, and in the same week rallied around a problem with the bakery’s Google business page. “Thank you for showing up for us,” the team wrote back. It is the most-liked post on their account.

Each of these is drawn from the shop’s own Instagram posts. More of them are written up in the journal.

Inside the shop

Warming trays at the back, a glass case down the middle, and a wall the customers have written on.