Bengawan Solo (company)

[1] Bengawan Solo was founded in 1975 by Anastasia Tjendri-Liew, an Indonesian-Chinese who emigrated from Palembang, Indonesia to Singapore.

[2] Tjendri-Liew had initially started an unlicensed home baking business producing butter, kueh lapis, and chiffon cakes in her HDB apartment at Marine Parade, which was popular such that she supplied her products to supermarkets and shops (such as a department store in Lucky Plaza) before officers from the Ministry of Environment shutdown her business in 1979.

However, since the demand for Tjendri-Liew's baking products continued, she decided to open a shop in Marine Terrace a few months later.

Tjendri-Liew managed to secure a low starting rent of S$1,200 only because the shop was vacant for 1–2 years due to the previous tenants not doing well.

The kitchen, which was a 'first' for Singapore's confectionery industry, was built on a 9,500 sq ft. plot of land in Harvey Road.