Recently, I came across an article in the local newspaper regarding the topic of slow food (not to be confused with the other Slow Food movement which gathers every weekly or so to dine at restaurants across Singapore). The main objectives of Slow Food (Singapore), are to safeguard Singapore’s Gastronomic Heritage and to defend and promote Traditional Knowledge related to our rich and diverse food cultures (extracted from the website). This movement is definitely something worth following, especially with the effects of western modernisation. So much so that many of the old traditional places are greatly neglected and replaced by the sprawling numbers of Cafes. You can read more information about it here at http://www.slowfood.sg/programs/heritage-heroes-2014/. The article also provided a list of heritage heroes (traditional food places) that is currently being promoted. Having frequented some of the stalls before and being greatly impressed by it, my interest was peaked to try out some of the other heroes on the list.
I was very fortunate to have some spare time in the weekday (kudos to an early nights out) to do a quick tour/search on old school delights that still hold an important place in my heart. After much research, I narrowed down to 3 main places for my nostalgic-themed food tour. They are mainly:
1) Dona Manis Cake Shop
2) Chin Mee Chin Confectionery
3) Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring
So let’s start off shall we?
Outlook of the shop -Copyright © 2014 Christopher Tan. All rights reserved.
1) Dona Manis Cake Shop
Address: 865 Mountbatten Road, #B1-93, Katong Shopping Centre, 43784
Contact no:6440 7688
Background info: Opened since 1993, this old confectionery has been selling traditional buns/pastries at the basement of Katong Shopping Centre.
Reviews:
Hungrygowhere (HGW): 73% (based on 11 votes)
Favourable reviews by food bloggers across Singapore
Well known for: Banana Pie, Rum Balls, Tarts, Butter bread, Cakes.
Among the three places I chose to visit, this has got to be the one that got me most excited. Reason being I came across a recommendation by straits times editor Tan Hsueh Yueh- one of my favourite local food editor, to try out their famed banana pie.
Despite being at the shopping centre for a couple of times (for cheap karaoke), I never once heard of this shop until recently. As seen from the photo (right), the exterior of the place is very simple, no frills, with just an array display of many of their alluring traditional bakes. As I didn’t have lunch, I straight away ordered a few of their popular items to find out how they managed stood the test of time.
Banana pies -Copyright © 2014 Christopher Tan. All rights reserved.
Cross-section of this delicious looking (and tasting) pie.
First being their godly banana pie….
To be honest, Banana isn’t one of the fruit I enjoyed much. Given the choices of other popular fruits like mango, apple or peach, I would gladly chose any of the latter as to banana. I find the taste of it a little too monotonous and not versatile enough to go with pastries. Boy was I wrong about that….
The banana was of the right sweetness and ripeness, and provided a very subtle and fragrant sweetness to the crusty pie. The pie is also baked to perfection with its gorgeous golden hue and flaky buttery texture.
They were also smart enough to include chopped almonds and desiccated coconut to provide crunch and sweetness to the pie. The overall taste of the tart is not too heavy, just of suitable portion. And now you think, what more can it be more awesome? The PRICE of course! It costs just a mere $2.20 (take that, cafes!). Almost three times less the price with the same amount of goodness, I’m sold!
That said, there are also other tasty options available.
Rumballs ($1)
These are addictive morsels that can be popped into your mouth in entirety in one shot. They are small little chocolate spheres, which centres were with rum-infused chocolate cream. The chocolate custard is reasonably spiked with alcohol, unlike some other bakeries which stinge on it. Gladly have these over popcorn (even those gourmet ones).
Chocolate tarts ($0.80)
Rich chocolate center (made from good chocolate as it doesn’t taste like those artificial low quality chocolates used elsewhere) that makes you wanna go back for seconds. Tart is crumbly and buttery too.
Butter Bread ($1.30)
Look at that golden liquid!
I ate this for breakfast the next day. Looked like just a normal bread and expected the center to be filled with those margarine filling (as seen in those coffee buns). Instead, what I got is a burst of salty, delicious liquid butter. It tasted very similar to Liu Sha Bao ( salted egg custard bun) but I somehow prefer this version over the latter. The bread itself is average, nothing to shout about but the liquid center really made this a star.
Scones ($1.30)
This is the only disappointment out of the four. The scones were recommended by online reviewers but tasted doughy and none of the crumbly buttery goodness one can expect from a good scone. On the positive side, it’s quite a big portion.
Conclusion: All in all, of almost half of the list of the heritage heroes I tried, this is hands down THE ONE to try.
Things to try: Banana Pie, Rum Balls, Chocolate tart and Butter Bread.
Good to know: The shop owner starts baking their popular banana pie at 6am despite its opening for business at 11am.
2) Chin Mee Chin Confectionery
Address: 204 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428903
Background info: With a rich history of over 70 years, it is one of the oldest ( and only few left) traditional coffee place in Singapore. It serves the typical traditional breakfast of Kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and Kopi. It also sell simple bakes like cream puffs, sugee cakes, swiss rolls, muffins and buns.
Reviews:
Google Reviews: 3.9/5 ( out of 7 reviews)
HGW: 79% (out of 33 reviews)
Positive reviews by food bloggers across Singapore
Well known for: traditional Kaya (coconut pandan jam) toast, Kopi, sugee cake, cream puffs and custard egg tarts.
Interior of the coffee house- full of nostalgic elements like marble tops and mosaic floor tiles
Located just a stone throw away from Dona Manis Cake shop (about 5-10 minutes walk), this is one traditional coffee place that’s getting increasingly more buzz in the internet. Even before you stepped into the shop, I could already smell the aroma of fragrant pandan coconut (from the kaya). Having reached there later afternoon (4pm) I was disappointed to find out that many of their old school bakes have sold out (especially the sugee cake), leaving only with muffins and fruit cakes. All was not lost as I ordered the kaya toast and kopi and took away some of the muffins to try.
Their Kaya Toast, using round toasted round buns cut into halves instead of the regular squarish toast.- Image courtesy of Hungrygowhere.
Kaya toast and Coffee ($1.90 total)
Kaya toast is one of my favourite all-time breakfast indulgence. It also come across as one of the most affordable breakfast option. The kaya toast here is one of the better ones I’ve eaten in Singapore. The small slab of butter also manage to bring out the richness of their homemade kaya. What is unique is that the toast is not the ordinary bread toast. Instead, they use round buns and cut it into halves and toast them. If Ihave to nitpick, it would have to be the buns- they were well toasted (over traditional grills) but could be a little flufflier. The kopi is a little weak-bodied, however it bear little or no hint of bitterness, so it’s not too bad.
Muffins ($2.10 for both)
Similarly, i had the muffins for breakfast the next day. Both were very decent with a good vanilla aftertaste but nothing to shout about. It goes very well with hot green tea though…
To conclude: If you are trying to find a place that is really nostalgic, this is it. With its green mosaic floor tiles and traditional settings, one can’t help but feel like you’re living back in the good ol’ days. The bakes are quite decent and worth coming if you are near the vicinity. Just be prepared for the less than eager service. I’ll be back to try out more of their bakes to blog and share with you guys.
Recommendations: Kaya toasts
Good to know: The Kaya is painstakingly made from scratch by the owner- It is made in huge cauldrons heated over slow burning charcoals, releasing a sweet aroma.
3rd and Final Stop: Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring
14 Haig Road, Stall #01-08 Haig Road Hawker Centre, S430014.
Contact:9688 3067
Background info: This 29 year-old family owned business is the only one in Singapore that still uses the traditional method to make its Putu Piring. Putu Piring is basically a traditional kueh using traditional rice flour and filled with a molten Gula Melaka (palm sugar) center.
Reviews:
72% by HGW (out of 7 reviews)
Very positive reviews from local bloggers like Dr Leslie Tay.
Well known for: Putu Piring
Outlook of the stall
Location wise, this stall was the hardest to find among the three due to the numerous shifts of locations and the inaccurate address on the internet. It took me near 20 minutes (walk from telok kurau) to locate this stall. Having said that, I’m glad that I found this.
Putu Piring ($2)
That generous amount of Gula Melaka.
For just $2, I was rewarded with 5 freshly made Putu Pirings, with a side of desiccated coconut. One bite and I understood why it raved about. Probably due to the good quality rice flour, the texture of the kueh is very soft and the small grains melt in your mouth gradually. This is followed by chunks of adequately sweet but rich gula melaka- another sign of good quality ingredients. The desiccated coconut is slightly salted, providing an additional flavour dimension to this sweet dessert. Smart. Expectedly, I single-handedly polished it off within minutes. When I packed some back for my folks to enjoy, it didn’t taste as good (probably due to the less molten center). Thus, I advise eating it right at the place itself, when it is served piping hot.
Conclusion: If you are a fan of Tu Tu Kueh (chinese version of the same kueh), you cannot miss this. This is undeniably the best Putu Piring I’ve tasted and i highly recommend you to come try it at least once in your lifetime.
Good to know: Come during non-meal periods to avoid queues. When I was there around 5pm, there were a constant small stream of people queuing though it only took me around 5 minutes to get order.
This is considered part 1 of my themed post as I only toured the heritages heroes listed around Katong-Joo Chiat area. I will be writing a review soon for some of the other heritage hereos and it will be location-based (like focusing only at certain area in Singapore) so do keep a lookout for that. That said, I highly encourage all of you to go and try out all these heritage hereos. As you can see from my reviews, I was greatly rewarded with all the great finds and I spend approximately $15 eating so much (definitely cheaper than cafe hopping!).
Till I write again, Adiós!
DonFML 