Cheap and Good

Sitting on the fringe of one of Singapore’s many well-known food hubs is a rather unassuming, almost nondescript food stall. It takes up a small corner of a kopitiam (local coffeeshop), which itself is off to the side of the famous Alexandra Village Food Centre (or hawker centre). It is so humble looking that to this day, after years of patronizing the stall, I still cannot remember its name. I know where it is, I recognize the owners, but I can’t remember the name of the stall!

This small food stall sells but two items – the Teochew Soon Kueh and the Ang Ku Kueh (for more information about South East Asian kuehs, please refer to my previous post on kuehs); and it is well-known and highly regarded for both.

Soon Kueh is a classic Teochew steamed dumpling. Traditionally, a thin, smooth and translucent skin envelops a voluptuous filling of sautéed young bamboo shoots (“soon” in Chinese). The dumpling is then brushed with a little oil and steamed to soft, succulent perfection; a light sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds adds the finishing touch. However, for some unknown reason, in Singapore at least, the “traditional” version of Soon Kueh is taken as being one filled with sautéed mung guang (jicama or Chinese turnip), and the bamboo version is normally referred to as being a variant of this. Nevertheless, on the whole, “soon kueh” is the term used to refer to both flavor varieties.

There is also a further variant with a chives filling. In this incarnation, it is technically no longer a Soon Kueh, but a Koo Chye Kueh (“koo chye” - sometimes spelt “ku chye” - being the dialect term for chives).

This stall sells all three versions. I’ve only ever tasted their mung-guang and chives dumplings, since my body doesn’t take too well to the presence of bamboo shoots.

The Soon Kuehs from this stall are big – quite a lot larger than the standard ones sold at hawker centers. And they come stuffed chock-full with filling - shredded turnips sautéed with finely diced carrots and wood-ear fungus.

The ones we bought on this last visit were unfortunately a little under-flavored. And the turnips could have done with more time in the wok too… that elusive “wok-hei”, or rich, complex flavor that comes from using the right intensity of heat and cooking the food for the right amount of time, was sadly missing.

The skin (made from rice flour and tapioca flour), on the other hand, was as good as ever. So beautifully thin and translucent that the fillings could be seen through it; and yet strong enough that it didn’t break or tear when the dumpling was picked up with chopsticks. The true mark of well-made skin I say. The texture was pretty close to perfect too – soft, smooth and succulent, with just the right amount of bite. There was just the right degree of sticky chewiness, without any dough sticking to the back of your teeth as you bit into the dumpling.

The accompanying chilli sauce was very good too. I have always liked the home-made chilli sauce from this stall. It is not tongue-searingly hot. But spice heat alone does not a fine chilli sauce define, in my opinion. I’ve never been one to enjoy food or sauces that have but one dominating flavor note that overshadows all else. I prefer balance, and a holistically complex package of tastes and aromas. It is about richly layered flavors, finely tuned spice and ingredient combinations, fragrant aromas, and just as importantly, long and patient frying (cooking) of the chilli sauce – an often overlooked factor that is essential for delicious sauces.

The chives dumpling also came filled to the brim with stuffing. Look how beautifully and evenly thin the snow-white skin was. Gorgeous. The only let-down was again the filling. Chives absolutely require a good amount of cooking time; otherwise they retain this rather unappetizing green, grassy taste, and sometimes even with a hint of sappiness. Ideally, they should be sautéed to just the right amount of softness so that they are very tender and smooth on the palate. Perhaps it was a substitute cook that prepared the fillings that day; a cook that was inordinately light-handed with the flavorings. Even the finely diced dried shrimps that were added to the chives could do little to lift the filling.

Still, at just 50 cents (US$0.30) per piece one can hardly gripe too much. The Soon Kuehs at this stall are truly cheap. Similar sized ones, and not necessarily better tasting ones either, will normally go for S$1.00 to S$1.20! I think this stall has held their prices steady for years and years, and this fact has not gone un-noticed with their very large and loyal following.

My favorite from this stall however remains their Ang Ku Kueh, and more specifically, their Peanut Ang Ku Kueh.

Again, at just S$0.50 a piece, it is incredible value. Super generous fillings are the trademark of this stall, and it is true of their Ang Ku Kuehs too.

I like their peanut filling for several reasons. The peanuts are roasted just right – not too much, which gives the filling a slight “burnt” aroma, and not too little that the filling lacks fragrance… but just right. (And no, there is no Goldilocks in this story, sorry.) The peanuts are then ground to a very good consistency, not too coarse and chunky and not too fine, but just… right (hey, we’re getting good at this! ). The sweetness of the peanut filling is also finely tuned. And the biggest bonus for me personally is that you can’t see or taste the granules of sugar. I tend to find this to be a problem with many other versions of peanut ang ku kueh. Another common problem is an overly moist filling where the peanuts clump together into a soggy lump and become soft with nary a crunch to them. At this stall, although the filling can occasionally fall a touch on the dry side, but more often than not, it is very fragrant, aromatic and nicely crunchy.

Not to be out-done, the skin is very well-made too. It is nicely soft, with the right amount of stickiness and chewiness. It is also not so thick that you get a whole chunk of glutinous rice flour dough with every bite, nor is it so thin that you feel like you are eating pure ground peanuts and nothing else.

All in all, just three words: good and cheap!

They also sell the Green Bean (Mung Bean) Paste Ang Ku Kueh – both sweet and savory. While the sweet version always has a red colored skin, like the peanut ang ku kueh, the savory one (pictured above) has a skin that is flavored, colored and flecked with a Chinese herb, the name of which I do not know. It lends a very subtle aromatic overtone to the skin, giving it a touch of the savory. In this form, the kueh is known as Aw Ku Kueh.

The generous bean paste filling is again very well made; with a soft and fluffy texture that doesn’t tip over into mushiness (unlike the one I wrote about previously). I’m not usually an aw ku kueh person. I much prefer the sweet one; but this savory version I will eat.

In recent years, they have added to their original repertoire of peanut, sweet and savory bean paste ang ku kuehs. Their range now includes “modern” flavors like yam and yes, even durian. I’ve never tried any of these “new” flavors, and am not inclined nor tempted to. I’m a classic kind of gal, you know… But given their generally high standards, I don’t think they will disappoint if you are so inclined towards those flavors.

I would say their kuehs are definitely among the better ones that I have tasted in our island state. They have remained steadfastly a specialist in these two types of kuehs, and it shows in the standards. And where value for money is concerned, they are pretty much unbeatable. This is one stall that has stayed on my “repeat list” for many years. I don’t visit it often; but whenever we happen to be in the vicinity, this stall is a must-stop.

[Update 19/06/04: a reader has very kindly emailed me the name of the stall: Poh Cheu]

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