Tag: Traditional food

These Exotic Ang Ku Kuehs Are On A Kueh-st To Conquer Your ‘grams And Tastebuds

Before all the fad foods that exist today, there were good old traditional pastries like Ang Ku Kueh.

A traditionally red pastry consisting of a sticky, chewy skin, wrapped over a sweet filling, this kueh was a regular feature on the dining table when many of us were children.

Kueh Ho Jiak, which literally translates to ‘kueh nice to eat‘, hopes to bring the humble kueh to the ‘gram-loving, health-conscious generation by changing up its flavours and appearance.

Located in the CBD, at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre, every one of the kuehs here is handmade with love.

Think multi-toned kuehs in purple, brown, yellow, and black hues. These kuehs come in a variety of shapes: bear, Hello Kitty, flower, heart, and circle. This facelift feels fresh, while still pointing to the kueh’s traditional roots with the banana leaf at the base of each one!

A Fresh Spin On Kueh

While Ang Ku Kueh skins are traditionally made of glutinous rice flour, the skins of Kueh Ho Jiak’s Ang Ku Kuehs are made of 5 different varieties of sweet potatoes: Japanese sweet potatoes, Purple sweet potatoes, Jewel sweet potatoes, Hannah sweet potatoes, and Garnet sweet potatoes.

The different coloured sweet potatoes are also what give these kuehs their unique hues. No artificial colourings are used in the making of these little snacks!

Appearance aside, what lies within the skin is even more intriguing. Some of the more unusual flavours include durian ($1.60) and hae bee hiam (spicy dried shrimp) ($1.60). Other flavours you’ll find are mung bean ($1.20), red bean ($1.20), peanut ($1.20), coconut ($1.20), and yam ($1.60).

While hae bee hiam Ang Ku Kueh may sound odd, don’t write it off without giving it a try! Spicy without being overly salty, this is likely to be a winner among those of you who love your savoury foods.

Generally, the kuehs here are less sweet than those you may be used to eating. While this threw us off at first, the more we had of it, the more we grew to like it! The skin of these kuehs is also softer than others we’ve tried – another thing we really like.

The crowd favourite here is the durian Ang Ku Kueh, so make sure to give that a try if they’re available when you stop by!

Made With Love

Everything at Kueh Ho Jiak is handmade with love.

In the evening, the people at Kueh Ho Jiak start making the kuehs. At around 1am, they start to steam them, and at 6am, the kuehs are delivered to the coffee shop to be sold. Some of the kuehs are brought to the store uncooked and are steamed fresh at the store once the previous batch is sold out.

Aside from Ang Ku Kuehs, some of the other things you must try while you’re here are the Bomb Puffs ($1.50) and the Ubi Kayu (cassava) ($2.20).

The Bomb Puff is the bomb. A curry puff with a crispy, fluffy pastry, its filling is chunky and very flavourful. Eating it, you can tell that the people at Kueh Ho Jiak have put a lot of effort into perfecting every element of the puff.

The Ubi Kayu here is delicious as well. Served with a fancy pair of toothpicks, these cassava balls are fragrant and so soft, they melt in your mouth!

A New Lease Of Life

Kueh Ho Jiak is all about inventing new recipes and giving traditional kuehs a new lease of life. A novel idea, these photogenic kuehs are sure to capture your heart and tastebuds!

Made with no preservatives, no pork, and no lard, you can even request for vegan versions to be made! Every kueh is made using healthy, fresh ingredients, so you can be sure you’re putting only good things into your body.

Looking to get your hands on these goodies? Place an order with Elizabeth at 9028 4359 because the kuehs here tend to sell out quite fast. While officially, Kueh Ho Jiak opens until 2pm, most days, it is closed by noon because it has run out of kuehs to sell!

Affordable, delicious, and so photogenic, you won’t regret trying these little treats!

Kueh Ho Jiak
Address: 6 Tanjong Pagar Road, #02-20 Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre, Singapore 081006
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 7am – 2pm; Closed on Sun
Contact no.: 9028 4359
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Also read We Tried Glamping For The First Time And It Was As Awesome As It Looks

What To Expect At The Singapore Favourite Food Village 2016!

Attention foodies, the Singapore Favourite Food Village (SFFV) is back! Themed “A Wok Through Singapore’s Culinary Heritage”, the festival will be held at Rochor Event Space (Bugis MRT Exit A) for a period of 10 days, from 22 – 31 July 2016!

In celebration of good food, visitors (free admission yas!) can expect a helluva unique variety of local dishes with over 20 culinary partners from three different school of thoughts – Old Favourites, Modern Take and On The Go.

Culinary Face Off: Old Favourites VS Modern Take

The key feature of this year’s festival is the culinary showdown between two dominant groups of culinary talents – the traditional Old Favourites and the avant-garde Modern Take. The two waves would be presenting their version of our local dishes, where the best part has to be getting visitors to taste before deciding on the winning dish.

On top of that, there will be food trucks and pop-up cafes dishing lip-smacking street food, live cooking demonstrations and street performances to keep the lively atmosphere going. We understand going through all 20 culinary vendors can get a little tough on your waistlines so listed below is are our top 5 picks of the festival.

1. Chilli Crab In Prata Bag by Big Street

Chilli Crab in Prata Bag sure does sound like a heavenly combination. The birth of this signature dish from Big Street however, is certainly not by chance. After many unsuccessful attempts at flavour experimentation and presentation, this uniquely Singaporean dish was created. Thank you Big Street.

2. Cow’s Taco Bowls by The Travelling C.O.W

A favourite at any food festival, we’re more than delighted to hear of Singapore’s first gourmet food truck, sous-vide!

3. Rainbow Churros by Churros Factory

We’ve had salted caramel churros, chocolate churros, cinnamon coated churros, but have you head of Rainbow Churros? Inspired by the traditional Nyonya 9 Layers Kueh, Jeremy Chiang, founder of 4. Fortune Food [caption id="attachment_10814" align="alignnone" width="439"] Image source: fortunefoodsg[/caption]

With a variety of dishes that include Popiah (spring rolls), Kueh Pie Tee, Nyonya Laksa, Muah Chee to Ayam Koro Bun (a braised chicken in a bun), 5. Souperstar [caption id="attachment_10815" align="alignnone" width="596"] Image source: souperstarsg[/caption]

The brain child of Fortune Food, Image source: SSFV[/caption]

Now who is excited for the end of the month? We know we are! No better time than the present to make a list of dishes you wish to try at the festival, eh? What is the dish you’d love to try the most? Drop us a comment and let us know!

Singapore Favourite Food Village – A Wok Through Singapore’s Culinary Heritage
Date: 22 – 31 July 2016
Time: 5PM-11PM daily
Venue: Rocher Event Space (Bugis MRT Exit A)
Ticket: Free admission
Website: Singapore Favourite Food Official

(All images in courtesy of Singapore Favourite Food)

Also read: Lobster Chicken Rice? Gastronomic Event STREAT 2016 Is Here!