Immigrant couple’s 22-year bakery journey in Sunset Park

Not far from the Ninth Avenue subway station in Sunset Park, Tung Sum Bakery, a Hong Kong-style cafe, provides commuters a quick coffee and bun before work, and older Chinese regulars a place to sit and chat in the afternoons.

For many customers, what makes the shop feel so special is not only the low prices, but the couple behind the counter who greet people with a steady smile. They ask after customers, trade small talk, and create a warmth that goes beyond a simple transaction, offering an oasis of calm in the middle of bustling South Brooklyn.

In 2003, Lee Lung Wah, then 38, and his wife, Chan Ling Ling, immigrated from Hong Kong to New York City with their young child. Chan’s older sister’s family had already been living in the city for years, which gave them a foothold when they first arrived. After settling in, the couple quickly threw themselves into the work of making a living, searching for jobs to support their new immigrant family.

Chan worked first in a bakery and later in a garment factory, making ends meet for their new immigrant family with her deft hands.

From the very beginning, Lee dreamed of starting his own business and decided to pursue the baking trade.

“I was thinking, food, clothing, housing, transportation, everyone needs to eat, so I chose this line of work,” Lee said. “I also think a person should have a skill and a goal. Life can be better that way.”

“At that time my thinking was, hey, having a job is already very good, why start any business,” Chan recalled.

Lee had never baked in Hong Kong, but after moving to New York, he became an apprentice at a Hong Kong bakery on Eighth Avenue. Looking back, he said he was lucky to meet a boss who was willing to train him.

Talking about the work ethic and drive her husband later showed, Chan did not hold back her praise.

“He could get off at five, but every time he stayed two more hours, unpaid, just to teach himself how to make cakes and buns,” she said. “He really had heart.”

After nearly a year, Lee’s boss encouraged him to open his own shop. Lee remembered that he did not have enough money at the time, but his boss helped him anyway.

“My boss was a really good person,” Lee said. “He supported me. He even bought the tools for me first, and I paid him back little by little later.”

Their first bakery was not even a full storefront. It was a small booth sublet inside another shop.

“The hardest part was at the very beginning, raising start-up money, and not having enough experience yet,” Lee said. From then on, he woke up a little after five every morning and rushed to the shop to bake, just to make sure the doors opened on time at 6 a.m.

“That is how we made it step by step,” he said.

He still remembers the first birthday cake he ever made.

“The first customer was a girl, maybe 15 or 16,” Lee said with a smile. “I made a birthday cake for her, and she was so happy when she got it. That made me happy, too.”

He also recalled that in the early years they sometimes got afternoon tea orders from renovation companies. They did not have a delivery car, so he delivered by bicycle.

“The customer was way out around 16th or 17th Avenue, in the 80-something streets, really far,” he said. “As I delivered, I would calculate in my head, one block is one more dollar earned, and another block is another dollar. Making money I earned myself, it made me really happy.”

Today, the couple has spent 22 years running their bakery through all kinds of ups and downs. Their main shop moved from Eighth Avenue to their current Ninth Avenue location. Along the way, Lee opened five or six additional branches, then later sold them off. Those shops, he said, are still doing well under new owners.

Looking back, Chan said that her older sister once doubted the plan.

“My big sister didn’t think it would work,” she said. “She thought he had only been in America a short time and wanted to start a business right away. She felt he was rushing and not stable enough.”

But as time passed and results became clear, Chan said their family came to recognize Lee’s effort and achievements.

Lee, for his part, grew emotional when talking about how the business became possible. He said he could not have succeeded on his own, and that he was lucky his wife was willing to share the burden with him.

“I feel we can be proud of ourselves,” he said. “My wife and I worked hard for a long time. The main thing is my wife’s support. This is all thanks to her.”

Lee said his own journey taught him a lesson he now passes on to others: “In America, if you’re willing to do the work, there are opportunities,” he said. “Choose a trade you like, work hard at it, and you can run a business well.”

Lee also said that after more than two decades of hard work, the couple has started planning for retirement. They hope to rent the shop out for someone else to operate, and if all goes smoothly, eventually sell it completely.

“If I really can retire, I might travel with Chan to all 50 states,” Lee said.

Chan added that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has not been able to return to Hong Kong. She hopes retirement will give her more time to travel, and to visit family back home.