How Tarnaka's 100YO 'Real Bakery' still strives to make Christmas special for Hyderabadis

Welcome to Real Bakery. Located opposite Railway Degree College near Tarnaka metro station, the bakery was established in the 1900s by L.S.D'souza. Initially, it was started at Tarnaka Cross Road. In the 2000s, the bakery was moved to its present location. L.S. D'souza worked in the Portuguese Army. In the early 1900's, he left the army and migrated from Goa to Hyderabad along with his family. After L.S. Dosuza died in 1963, his son Antony D'souza took over the bakery. Earlier, they used to use a wood fire oven to bake the cake. But for the last 25 years, due to the high intensity of heat, now they use gas stoves to bake. The bakery is known for its Guava Cheesecake and Rich Plum Cake. "To make the Guava cake, we use only the natural pulp of the fruit and no artificial colors or flavors are used in its preparation," says Nelson D'souza, son of Antony Dsouza, who runs the shop currently with his mother Linda. He adds that the bakery still follows his grandfather's recipe in the preparation of both these cakes. "Our advertising is only through word of mouth. Probably, it is the quality and taste that attracts customers and eventually retains them as our loyal customers. Our target has always been to make a customer come back. If they come back, that is enough to know that they liked our cake," says Nelson.