In this “On the Go” Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian hit the factory floor of a company that is turning 100 years old in 2026!

Bingo if you’ve guessed Polar Puffs & Cakes! Then called the Polar Cafe, the firm opened the doors of its first outlet on 51 High Street in 1926, serving up curry puffs, ice-cream and chilled beverages.

The cafe soon became the go-to-place for politicians, lawyers and businessmen due to its strategic location near the trading harbour. And among them, according to the firm, is prominent Hokkien businessman Lim Bo Seng. 

Today, Polar Puffs & Cakes adopts mostly a takeaway concept and boasts a network of 37 stores and cafes across Singapore, with six more outlets set to open their doors in 2026 and 2027.   

The company also made its first step to expand abroad by opening a new store in Gurney Plaza, Penang in 2025. 

But how is Polar Puffs & Cakes spicing up the business looking into its next 100 years of operations? Tian Tian headed down to the firm’s factory in Woodlands Link, where she spoke with Chan Kok Yew, Executive Chairman of Polar Puffs & Cakes for more.

In this &ldquo;On the Go&rdquo; Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian hit the factory floor of a company that is turning 100 years old in 2026!
Bingo if you&rsquo;ve guessed Polar Puffs &amp; Cakes! Then called the Polar Cafe, the firm opened the doors of its first outlet on 51 High Street in 1926, serving up curry puffs, ice-cream and chilled beverages.
The cafe soon became the go-to-place for politicians, lawyers and businessmen due to its strategic location near the trading harbour. And among them, according to the firm, is prominent Hokkien businessman Lim Bo Seng.&nbsp;
Today, Polar Puffs &amp; Cakes adopts mostly a takeaway concept and boasts a network of 37 stores and cafes across Singapore, with six more outlets set to open their doors in 2026 and 2027. &nbsp;&nbsp;
The company also made its first step to expand abroad by opening a new store in Gurney Plaza, Penang in 2025.&nbsp;
But how is Polar Puffs &amp; Cakes spicing up the business looking into its next 100 years of operations? Tian Tian headed down to the firm&rsquo;s factory in Woodlands Link, where she spoke with Chan Kok Yew, Executive Chairman of Polar Puffs &amp; Cakes for more.

We speak with businesses, industry leaders, venture capitalists and startups on their assessment of the business environment they're in, and what the future holds for them.

We speak with businesses, industry leaders, venture capitalists and startups on their assessment of the business environment they're in, and what the future holds for them.

Under The Radar

Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong is your 4–8pm drive companion, guiding you through the day’s biggest headlines, trending conversations and the issues shaping Singapore and the world.

From news and current affairs to lifestyle insights and generational perspectives, the show helps you make sense of what’s happening — with clarity, context and a touch of personality.

Whether you’re catching up after a long day or tuning in on the move, Your Way Home keeps you informed, engaged and connected — all the way home.

And she closes the day with a song that says it all.

Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong is your 4&ndash;8pm drive companion, guiding you through the day&rsquo;s biggest headlines, trending conversations and the issues shaping Singapore and the world.
From news and current affairs to lifestyle insights and generational perspectives, the show helps you make sense of what&rsquo;s happening &mdash; with clarity, context and a touch of personality.
Whether you&rsquo;re catching up after a long day or tuning in on the move, Your Way Home keeps you informed, engaged and connected &mdash; all the way home.
And she closes the day with a song that says it all.

Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

MONEY FM 89.3 is Singapore’s first and only Business and Personal Finance station. MONEY FM is a 24-hour English talk format station featuring local and international business and financial news. We provide you with financial market and currency updates and insights from analysts, economists, policy makers, industry experts and business owners.

In the lighter hours, listen to discussions on social issues and features on topics that include health, education, arts and music.

MONEY FM 89.3 is Singapore&rsquo;s first and only Business and Personal Finance station. MONEY FM is a 24-hour English talk format station featuring local and international business and financial news. We provide you with financial market and currency updates and insights from analysts, economists, policy makers, industry experts and business owners.
In the lighter hours, listen to discussions on social issues and features on topics that include health, education, arts and music.

MONEY FM 89.3 is Singapore’s first and only Business and Personal Finance station.

MONEY FM 89.3

Under the Radar: (SPECIALS) How is Polar Puff & Cakes spicing up the business as it celebrates 100 years of operations? Its Executive Chairman spills the curry puff flakes.

For decades, software applications were built around a relatively straightforward premise. Businesses stored information in structured tables, rows and columns neatly organised inside relational databases.

But the internet has changed everything, with modern applications now expected to process vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, scale across millions of users and integrate with hundreds of services.

Not to mention that they’re also increasingly being used to power artificial intelligence. 

What this means is that traditional databases that bound information by parameters in rows and columns are now struggling to keep pace. 

This change has given rise to a new generation of database platforms such as MongoDB that aims to help developers build modern applications faster. 

Instead of storing data in rows and columns, MongoDB stores them like documents, making it easy to model data the same way the application code uses it. This allows developers to change their data model quickly and also handle non-uniform data. 

Today, MongoDB serves over 67,000 customers across almost every industry, and counts about 75 per cent of Fortune 100 firms under its belt. Other notable clients include L’Oreal, Wells Fargo, Cathay Pacific Airways and Novo Nordisk.

The Nasdaq-listed company had also in May 2026 reported better-than-expected first quarter results for fiscal 2027 first quarter. MongoDB also raised its full-year fiscal 2027 guidance for revenue to a range of US$2.92 billion to US$2.96 billion.

But what are the key drivers for the firm at this point in time?

And turning our attention to the Asia Pacific region, how are organisations across the region modernising their application stack? Where is demand coming from and how is MongoDB positioning itself for the next phase of enterprise computing?

On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Thorsten Walther, Managing Director, CXO Advisory Asia at MongoDB.

For decades, software applications were built around a relatively straightforward premise. Businesses stored information in structured tables, rows and columns neatly organised inside relational databases.
But the internet has changed everything, with modern applications now expected to process vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, scale across millions of users and integrate with hundreds of services.
Not to mention that they&rsquo;re also increasingly being used to power artificial intelligence.&nbsp;
What this means is that traditional databases that bound information by parameters in rows and columns are now struggling to keep pace.&nbsp;
This change has given rise to a new generation of database platforms such as MongoDB that aims to help developers build modern applications faster.&nbsp;
Instead of storing data in rows and columns, MongoDB stores them like documents, making it easy to model data the same way the application code uses it. This allows developers to change their data model quickly and also handle non-uniform data.&nbsp;
Today, MongoDB serves over 67,000 customers across almost every industry, and counts about 75 per cent of Fortune 100 firms under its belt. Other notable clients include L&rsquo;Oreal, Wells Fargo, Cathay Pacific Airways and Novo Nordisk.
The Nasdaq-listed company had also in May 2026 reported better-than-expected first quarter results for fiscal 2027 first quarter. MongoDB also raised its full-year fiscal 2027 guidance for revenue to a range of US$2.92 billion to US$2.96 billion.
But what are the key drivers for the firm at this point in time?
And turning our attention to the Asia Pacific region, how are organisations across the region modernising their application stack? Where is demand coming from and how is MongoDB positioning itself for the next phase of enterprise computing?
On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Thorsten Walther, Managing Director, CXO Advisory Asia at MongoDB.

Under the Radar: How is MongoDB positioning itself for the next phase of enterprise computing?

In January 2023, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, several dozen Asia-focused CEOs and senior executives of the world’s largest companies gathered for a private dinner. 

The executives had commanded operations employing tens of thousands of people, with their supply chains spanning dozens of cities from Shanghai to London and Abu Dhabi. 

They had invested heavily in, and also reaped the benefits of China’s rise over the past two decades.

But yet for the first time in memory, the mood was different. The conversation didn’t centre around growth targets or market expansion, but instead, it was about whether their China strategies worked at all. 

It was about how China is navigating geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, the ongoing housing market downturn and rapid technological change. 

And with that comes the big question. “What’s the next China?” How should companies diversify or hedge against China? 

Well, according to the host of that private dinner, Joe Ngai, Chairman, McKinsey Greater China, the next China, is still China.

He details why in his new book “The Next China is still China”, co-written with Nick Leung, McKinsey Global Institute Director and Senior Partner in Hong Kong.

In this “In the Community” Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Joe Ngai, Chairman, McKinsey Greater China for more. They also discussed how companies can redesign their strategies to sell to China going forward.

In January 2023, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, several dozen Asia-focused CEOs and senior executives of the world&rsquo;s largest companies gathered for a private dinner.&nbsp;
The executives had commanded operations employing tens of thousands of people, with their supply chains spanning dozens of cities from Shanghai to London and Abu Dhabi.&nbsp;
They had invested heavily in, and also reaped the benefits of China&rsquo;s rise over the past two decades.
But yet for the first time in memory, the mood was different. The conversation didn&rsquo;t centre around growth targets or market expansion, but instead, it was about whether their China strategies worked at all.&nbsp;
It was about how China is navigating geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, the ongoing housing market downturn and rapid technological change.&nbsp;
And with that comes the big question. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the next China?&rdquo; How should companies diversify or hedge against China?&nbsp;
Well, according to the host of that private dinner, Joe Ngai, Chairman, McKinsey Greater China, the next China, is still China.
He details why in his new book &ldquo;The Next China is still China&rdquo;, co-written with Nick Leung, McKinsey Global Institute Director and Senior Partner in Hong Kong.
In this &ldquo;In the Community&rdquo; Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian sat down with Joe Ngai, Chairman, McKinsey Greater China for more. They also discussed how companies can redesign their strategies to sell to China going forward.

Under the Radar: (SPECIALS) Why is the “next China” still China? Chairman of McKinsey Greater China explains.

Digital transformation has become one of the defining priorities for organisations over the past decade. 

What began as a push to digitalise customer touchpoints has since evolved into a broader effort to rethink business models, modernise legacy technology, strengthen cybersecurity and more recently, harness the power of artificial intelligence to improve productivity and create new sources of growth. 

And today, we’re going to revisit a company whose role in digital transformation has never been more important. 

Set up by global investment firm Temasek in 2021, our guest Temus works with government agencies and public institutions to enhance digital services, improve citizen experiences and drive national-scale transformation in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation vision to create a more connected, intelligent and efficient society. 

For instance, Temus teamed up with the Singapore Department of Statistics to design and deliver the SingStat Mobile App to enable fast access to official statistics. It also worked with a national education authority to reimagine Special Education experiences for students, parents, and staff alike through comprehensive service design.

On the private sector front, the company works with businesses to innovate, scale and thrive amid the ever-changing business environment, by helping them adopt what it calls human-centered digital solutions that drive real business outcomes.

And more things are brewing for Temus than before. In October 2025, the firm inked three new strategic collaborations with the Infocomm Media Development Authority in Singapore, as well as with insuretech player Peak3 and third-party AI assurance provider Resaro to accelerate AI transformation across Singapore. 

Fast forward to May 2026, it’s also launched an AI Foundry to expand Singapore’s AI talent base and strengthen production-grade AI delivery for enterprises. 

But what should we know about the moves by Temus to position itself as a transformation partner of choice for both the public and private sectors in Singapore? How will AI augment its growth trajectory?

On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sng Ren Yeong, CEO, Temus.

Digital transformation has become one of the defining priorities for organisations over the past decade.&nbsp;
What began as a push to digitalise customer touchpoints has since evolved into a broader effort to rethink business models, modernise legacy technology, strengthen cybersecurity and more recently, harness the power of artificial intelligence to improve productivity and create new sources of growth.&nbsp;
And today, we&rsquo;re going to revisit a company whose role in digital transformation has never been more important.&nbsp;
Set up by global investment firm Temasek in 2021, our guest Temus works with government agencies and public institutions to enhance digital services, improve citizen experiences and drive national-scale transformation in line with Singapore&rsquo;s Smart Nation vision to create a more connected, intelligent and efficient society.&nbsp;
For instance, Temus teamed up with the Singapore Department of Statistics to design and deliver the SingStat Mobile App to enable fast access to official statistics. It also worked with a national education authority to reimagine Special Education experiences for students, parents, and staff alike through comprehensive service design.
On the private sector front, the company works with businesses to innovate, scale and thrive amid the ever-changing business environment, by helping them adopt what it calls human-centered digital solutions that drive real business outcomes.
And more things are brewing for Temus than before. In October 2025, the firm inked three new strategic collaborations with the Infocomm Media Development Authority in Singapore, as well as with insuretech player Peak3 and third-party AI assurance provider Resaro to accelerate AI transformation across Singapore.&nbsp;
Fast forward to May 2026, it&rsquo;s also launched an AI Foundry to expand Singapore&rsquo;s AI talent base and strengthen production-grade AI delivery for enterprises.&nbsp;
But what should we know about the moves by Temus to position itself as a transformation partner of choice for both the public and private sectors in Singapore? How will AI augment its growth trajectory?
On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Sng Ren Yeong, CEO, Temus.

Under the Radar: (SPECIALS) How is Polar Puff & Cakes spicing up the business as it celebrates 100 years of operations? Its Executive Chairman spills the curry puff flakes.

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