Our loved ones deserve the best for their birthday but with safety measures during an ongoing pandemic, that task can be difficult.

However, that did not stop a customer from surprising his girlfriend for her birthday.

Nicholas Ang, chef and owner of The White Ombre bakery located in Toa Payoh, shared a screenshot of an order and the special request from his customer last Wednesday (July 7).

The order was the bakery's signature cake – an Earl Grey Strawberry Shortcake – with the words "I love you" specially requested by the customer as a short message on the cake.

The order was set to be delivered on July 10 and he had given specific instructions to the bakery to deliver the cake by 11.50pm.

He further requested that the delivery person place the cake on top of the box and light the candles at "exactly 11:59pm" before ringing the doorbell.

Not only that but the customer also wanted the bakery's deliveryman to sing the birthday song with him as soon as they opened the door.

Speaking to AsiaOne, Ang admitted that his first reaction to the request was that it "must be a troll or some entitled person".

The 40-year-old initially wanted to turn down the request, however after speaking to the customer, he agreed to the request.

He said: "He was a very polite guy. He sounded quite sincere and he asked very nicely, which is what made me agree to do it. Also, the address wasn't too far away, maybe about a 10-minute drive."

Instead of sending a delivery rider, Ang made the decision to deliver the cake himself.

Forgot the lighter

On the day of delivery, he arrived at the location punctually but realised that he forgot to bring a lighter.

"I initially forgot to bring a lighter to light the candle," Ang said, "So, I had to go to a 7-Eleven to buy one."

Luckily for him, he managed to make it back in time to surprise the customer's girlfriend.

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When asked how the scene unfolded, Ang said: "She was surprised and embarrassed I guess, which was pretty expected. She kept trying to hide behind her boyfriend."

As the surprise went well, the grateful customer tipped Ang $20 to thank him for his efforts.

Ang shared that his cake shop has received "strange and difficult requests before" but admitted that this special request wins.

When asked if he would do it again, he said: "Probably not. [It's a] case by case, if it's not too inconvenient [but] most important is to see the customer's attitude."

In May last year, a Grab rider received an order from a customer to deliver a package to a friend with the request to wish the recipient a happy birthday, which the rider gleefully fulfilled, even singing the birthday song to him.

mardhiahhaslan@asiaone.com