At 70, most people might be thinking about slowing down. Mdm Pushpa was thinking about what she could bake next.
After retiring in December, the third-generation Singaporean found herself entering an unexpected new chapter. With the loving encouragement of her children, she decided to turn something that had been part of her life for decades into something she could share with the wider community.
And so, in May 2026, from her HDB flat in Yishun, Biskut Disco was born. But in many ways, the story of Biskut Disco began long before that.
It began with Mdm Pushpa’s first official baking certification in 1998. It grew through lessons from her late parents, who taught her the old-fashioned ways of homemade baking, and from kind neighbours who generously shared their knowledge. During her morning grocery runs, the makciks at the pasar became some of her most unexpected teachers, introducing her to the art of traditional Malay kuih.
Over the years, her curiosity never faded. YouTube and talented creators on Instagram Reels became new sources of inspiration, while memories of the kuih muih she enjoyed as a little girl continued to remind her of the flavours and traditions she wanted to preserve.
Even retirement did not mean retiring from learning.
This year, Mdm Pushpa returned to SSA Culinary School as a happy post-retirement student, completing four baking and cooking classes to refresh and sharpen her skills. For her, the certificates are more than pieces of paper. They represent decades of learning, practice and dedication, and a lifelong journey that has finally led her here.
“I’ve come a long way and I continue to persevere” – Mdm Pushpa
That spirit is at the heart of Biskut Disco.
The business may be small, but Mdm Pushpa’s standards are anything but. Every product is made to order in small batches, with an emphasis on freshness, quality and the kind of care usually associated with baking for family.
Her approach is deliberately old-fashioned. Her cakes and cookies are made with real butter, never margarine. Her signature murukku flour is freshly ground at a local mill, while every batch of murukku is fried in fresh premium cooking oil that is never reused. Freshly grated coconut comes from her regular wet market, and she makes her own gula melaka syrup from authentic blocks sourced from a trusted producer in Melaka.
Even her ghee is made by hand.
Using premium European butter, Mdm Pushpa patiently clarifies it over a low flame for more than an hour, carefully skimming away foam and impurities until she is left with pure clarified butter. That homemade ghee goes into favourites such as her Sugee cookies, Makmur and murukku.
Behind every recipe is the same question: how can she make it as good as possible?
Before launching Biskut Disco, Mdm Pushpa and her daughter spent months testing and refining recipes. From January until launch, each item was batch-tested six or seven times. Friends and colleagues received sample packs and were encouraged to give honest feedback. Recipes were adjusted, improved and tested again.
The work was not always easy.
There were baking disasters entire batches that had to be thrown away and remade from scratch. There was back-breaking physical work and the mental exhaustion that comes with starting over after hours of effort.
But she persevered.
Once the recipes were ready, the family began building the business piece by piece. They researched pricing, completed short courses, worked out how to fairly account for premium ingredients and packaging, ordered labels and packaging, created an inventory system and conducted a simple photoshoot using their own devices.
They reached out to local food influencers, too. Four were contacted and sent full product sets.
Eventually, the business was registered with ACRA and launched across social media, hyperlocal marketplaces, Shopee, Lazada, TikTok and its own online store.
Yet for all the effort that goes into running Biskut Disco, the business is about something much deeper than selling baked goods. For Mdm Pushpa, making these treats gives her a reason to keep her hands busy, her mind sharp and her heart full. More importantly, it gives her a way to pass on flavours that she believes should never be forgotten. She remembers the delicious kuih muih of her childhood and the “good old golden era” when traditional treats were part of everyday life. Today, she hopes younger generations will have the chance to taste and appreciate those same flavours. That desire to preserve heritage can be seen in the names she gives her creations. Sugee Kristang pays tribute to the Kristang community, while Makmur Makcik celebrates the makciks who come together like family to make traditional Malay makmur for Raya. Many of the menu items carry Malay names as an expression of Mdm Pushpa’s love and respect for Singapore’s national language and for the rich food heritage that forms part of the country’s identity. It is this sense of heritage that makes Biskut Disco more than just another home-based bakery. It is a small kitchen carrying a very big memory. And every order is treated with the same care as if it were being prepared for someone in Mdm Pushpa’s own family.
Once an order comes in, Mdm Pushpa prepares the kitchen, sanitises the workspace and carefully measures each ingredient before baking, frying or cooking. Every finished piece is personally inspected before her daughter takes over the packaging. Together, mother and daughter have created a meticulous system. Products are packed into food-grade packaging, sealed and finished with ribbons. Labels include ingredients, allergens, expiry dates and reheating instructions. Orders are placed into gift-style carrier bags with handwritten details, thank-you cards, invoices and even complimentary samples of other bakes.
The intention is simple: every customer should feel as though they have received a thoughtful gift. That personal touch has already created moments that Mdm Pushpa will remember. One customer, after tasting her kuih, sent a long and detailed message reviewing every single item with genuine enthusiasm and describing how satisfying the experience had been. The response meant so much to Mdm Pushpa that she still remembers it and the customer has already pre-ordered for Christmas. For a new business, moments like these are more meaningful than numbers. They are proof that something made in a home kitchen in Yishun can travel far beyond the walls of that home and find a place in someone else’s heart.
Mdm Pushpa’s proudest achievement is perhaps the simplest one: at 70, she has built a business of her own. She has created an online store, learned new skills, continued refining her craft and, with the support of her children, taken something she has loved for most of her life and given it a new purpose. Her dream is to keep going.
She hopes more customers will discover Biskut Disco, become regulars and give her more opportunities to fill her hands and her heart with the work she loves. Perhaps one day, she imagines, Biskut Disco might even appear at pop-up booths or carts at major exhibitions, bringing her heritage goodies to even more people.
For now, though, the business remains what it was from the beginning: personal, heartfelt and proudly homemade.
A 70-year-old retiree in Yishun, baking the flavours she grew up with.
One small batch at a time.
And perhaps that is the real origin of Biskut Disco not the day the business was registered, or the day the online store went live, but all the years before that. The lessons from parents and neighbours. The makciks at the pasar. The recipes remembered from childhood. The certificates earned, the classes taken, the failed batches and the countless hours spent trying again.
A lifetime of love and learning, finally finding its way into a box of kuih.
That is Biskut Disco.