Prince of Wales: Christmas delights at the oldest bakery in town

What is Christmas without a cake from Prince of Wales, a historic bakery in Dhaka? It is the oldest surviving bakery in Dhaka, established circa 1850 by a man from Wales. And it is a story we all know. What we do not know is the extent to which the old bakery is still popular during Christmas!

The tiny, bakery is located in Lakshmi Bazaar, Old Dhaka and is owned by a former employee Sheikh Buddhu Mia and is now run by his three generations. The current owner, still boasts the traditional style of baking in a mud stove fired by wood. However, Prince of Wales, even though a popular confectionary, lacks the contemporary sparkle of bakeries in other parts of the city.

Located beside St Gregory's High School & College is one busy store during winter. Jam tarts are a mouthful of flaky puff pastry and strawberry jam for those with a sweet tooth; they can chomp down a few without feeling guilty. "Love letters" are sort of a crumbly pastry cake that melts in your mouth leaving a mild lemony hint in your palate.

Plain pound cake, cheesecake, and the special Christmas cake with dry fruits, raisins, candied fruits, and a hint of cinnamon and slivers of almond are baked by the hundreds few days until Christmas Eve. The fruity chocolate cake with a distinct flavour of cinnamon is Christmas in every bite.

People place orders beforehand, as early as December 16, yet they need to stand in a queue to get their orders processed. People come from as far as Narayanganj, Uttara, Mohammadpur and wait for hours to get their pre-ordered goodies. Lacklustre and not decorated with Christmas lights, the bakery looks ordinary but once you step inside the tiny shop, the faint scent of cinnamon and cakes baking in the wooden oven greets you. And you do not mind standing in the queue.

Kaiser Ahmed, son of the current proprietor, explains that they follow the age-old recipe for all their confectionaries, especially the Christmas cake.

"During December and January, our bakery works round the clock. Our Christmas cake is only Tk 350 a pound, the plain cake is Tk 200, and tarts and love letters are only Tk 30 apiece. We keep the price low because we believe in the founder's kindness and goodwill as our source of inspiration.

"We even have the option to help people bake their own cakes. They bring in all the ingredients and we prepare it for them. We bake around 300 cakes in season for retail sale plus the huge number of orders placed by the people," Ahmed says.

Lakshmi Bazaar is lined with food carts, selling a wide array of items starting from momos, dosas, chaats, fruits, pizzas, and boiled eggs, and is ever busy with people flocking the lane for entertainment. You can always treat yourself to old Dhaka yummies while waiting for your oven fresh baked goodies.

It is a ritual for many to take this trip to Lakshmi Bazaar every Christmas and enjoy the goodies from this traditional bakery. It makes for a perfect Christmas gift.