TacoCat's TrEats #7: Singaporean snacks! (Part 3) 🍞
Hey Steempress!
I'm continuing the SG snacks series because there's just toooo many! By snacks I mean those typically eaten for tea breaks at coffee shops, not packaged snacks like biscuits (that'll be in another post!). Hunger warning! Cos you'll probably get hungry reading this. 😅
1) Kuih bahulu 鷄蛋糕
Kuih Bahulu is a fluffy egg cake with a slightly crusty layer and is a welcome kuih (bite-sized snack) in Malaysia. Some people call this Malaysian Madeleines or Malaysia's sponge cake, and I guess it's not technically Singaporean, but regardless, kuih bahulu is a very popular snack here as well, and one of my personal favourites.
They come in various shapes depending on the mould used but this seashell-shaped version is the most popular and iconic shape used to make kuih bahulu. It is made with dry flour, sugar and eggs and when baked in the oven it'll become slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, delicious when dunked in hot coffee/Kopi O. The little cakes are also favoured by the Chinese to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Kuih bahulu can be found in most bakeries, and is sold in plastic containers, especially around LNY.
2) Soon kueh 笋粿
This dumpling-like kueh is filled with a fragrant mixture of shredded bamboo shoots, turnip and dried shrimps wrapped in a smooth rice-tapioca flour skin. Originally, soon kueh, which means “bamboo shoot” in Teochew – was made with bamboo shoot. But as Chinese turnip is cheaper and more readily available, more people started to make soon kueh using Chinese turnip.
Personally, I think I'd like soon kueh more if it was crispy so I don't really eat it that much, but since it's steamed and stuffed with vegetables I'd say this is a fairly healthy snack option.
You can get soon kueh from most hawker centres, and I think Fatt Soon Kueh is really popular. I haven't tried it, but it's rated quite highly on a few websites and they have a few branches so it's worth a shot.
3) Tau sah piah
Tau sah piah, or mung beans biscuits, is a traditional Chinese pastry biscuit using two types of dough to achieve a flaky skin. The filling can be sweet, salty or both. Tbh, I didn't even know that tau sah piah was made using mung beans. I always thought it was lotus paste. I found out that there are actually maaaany different types of tau sah piah; sweet, salty, ball-like bite-sized ones, flat ones, flaky ones, crispy ones... not to mention the different fillings like red bean or lotus paste.
I read an interesting post about the history of tau sah piah. Apparently it came from a group of Hainanese people in the '60s who made and sold Western cakes to Europeans/British back then. In '73, they got the idea to bake the traditional Teochew tau sah piah but with a Western twist by retaining its flakiness but adding a buttery cookie-like crunch to it.
I'm not sure if that was accurate, but that was how the famous Loong Fatt shop came to be. I actually visited the shop for the first time earlier this year and it's actually really interesting! They modeled the shop after a traditional coffee shop and it felt like we traveled back in time.
4) Pandan waffles
Made from a batter using creamy coconut milk and fragrant Pandan flavoring, these waffles are cooked until golden brown. They are deliciously crispy on the outside, soft and slightly chewy on the inside and perfectly sweet. It is then spread with peanut butter/chocolate/jam and served in a paper bag to-go at many neighbourhood bakeries. This is also one of my favourite snacks that I used to buy every week after my tuition class.
Apparently this originated in Vietnam, and is called bánh kẹp lá dứa. From the pics I've seen the Vietnamese don't put any spreads on the waffle, but the waffle itself looks the same. I've never actually seen it in Vietnam, but I read that it's a popular street food there.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://tacocat.vornix.blog/2018/07/10/tacocats-treats-7-singaporean-snacks-part-3-%f0%9f%8d%9e/
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Wa... mouth-watering snacks again. When we were young, we help mum made kuih bahulu, especially during the Chinese New Year time.
thanks to you I looked up the pandan plant, because I never heard of it before ad the waffles look so delicious. I wonder, maybe it can be grown inside, so I have a chance to have it in my kitchen? Sounds delicious.