Putu mayam & do-it-yourself min jiang kueh utilizing father’s recipe at Ang Mo Kio

My go to to Belinda’s Pancake had me waking up at 6.45am. I’d heard that their objects promote out earlier than midday, so I didn’t wish to miss out on it. This stall is positioned in Teck Ghee Court Market & Food Centre which sells conventional min jiang kueh (pancakes) and cone crepes.

They also have a dish which appears to be disappearing from our native meals scene: putu mayam (I can’t recall after I final had this nostalgic breakfast meals). I took my Malaysian colleague Reena alongside, who flew in from KL final week.

The stall proprietor is Aunty Belinda, a pleasant and heat soul who made us smile although we had been groggy at that hour. A 66-year-old Malay uncle was churning out the pancakes and we thought he was her husband, however it turned out to be her former classmate. How cool!

The batter for the pancakes and crepes are ready recent each day, and is derived from recipes which had been handed down by Aunty Belinda’s father.

The Malay uncle used to personal a stall promoting martabak manis. We watched in awe as he expertly shuffled between making thicker pancakes in deep pans, after which shifting on to execute the skinny crepes on the flat griddle.

What I attempted at Belinda’s Pancake

I requested for the Chocolate & Cheese Cone (S$1.80) however Aunty Belinda promptly replied, “I didn’t bring in cheese as the cost of it is so expensive now.” And so, I settled for the Peanut Cone (S$1.30) as a substitute. We had been instructed to start out with this primary because it loses its crispiness when it turns chilly. It was an enormous crepe, larger than my palm, and its form resembled a big model of a kachang puteh paper cone.

The paper-thin crepe was addictively crispy. On the within, the stability of peanuts and sugar was completely calibrated. It hit my style buds with waves of nutty goodness along with mild caresses of sweetness. Wolfing this down was a messy affair, with tiny specks of peanuts and crepe crumbs touchdown throughout our desk. Reena and I felt that this may be extra befitting for a dessert fairly than one thing to have for an early breakfast.

We proceeded with the following merchandise, the Puttu Mayam (S$2 for two items). It was a spherical internet made up of finely-shredded rice noodles, which seemed like mee sua. It got here with a packet of grated coconut and orange-hued granulated sugar.

There was a mini cultural change session taking place between Reena and I. I grew up consuming Puttu Mayam with orange sugar however she stared at it in confusion, making me marvel if something was incorrect.

When I instructed her it was sugar, she answered in disbelief, “I honestly thought it was grated carrot.”

Back in Malaysia, the sugar that comes with putu mayam is definitely darkish brown, derived from gula melaka— a stark distinction from our model.

After pouring the granulated sugar on prime, we sprinkled the shredded coconut, and voila— the makeover was full.

The high-quality shreds of the do-it-yourself Puttu Mayam had been barely salty and moist. After pairing it with the candy condiments, the flavours had been superbly balanced out. This entire expertise transported me again in time when my late grandmother would purchase these for breakfast— if solely there was a time machine.

We moved on to the Red Bean Pancake (S$1). The crimson bean filling was oozing out from its sides prefer it wanted some recent air. The insides had been generously unfold with a thick layer of crimson bean paste, which tasted like a cross between tau sar and crimson bean.

It was extraordinarily flavourful and wasn’t overly candy— perfect for older people too. While the filling was nice, the pancake itself paled compared. It was barely too dense and we might have most well-liked it to be fluffier.

The Coconut Pancake (S$1) had a brimful of orange-coloured coconut shreds stuffed from inside. Once once more, my colleague from throughout the causeway had mistaken the coconut filling for cheese. She didn’t perceive why it was in that color.

I figured that orange granulated sugar was added to the recent shreds of coconut for it to realize this shade.

The coconut had a slight tinge of sweetness with a satisfying texture while you munch on it. Similar to the Red Bean Pancake, I’d’ve most well-liked the pancake to be lighter.

Final ideas

Belinda’s Pancake opens at 6am and normally sells out by midday. When I used to be there, the queue was countless, consisting of a great combination of youngsters, younger adults and previous people.

We rely on hawkers like Aunty Belinda and her ex-classmate to maintain previous traditions from dying out. And I hope they proceed to serve us such goodies for a very long time to return.

Make a visit all the way down to Ang Mo Kio and get your arms on their pancakes and putu mayam.

Expected harm: S$1 – S$5 per pax

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