Chey Sua Carrot Cake 青山菜头粿 at Toa Payoh West market and food centre is one of the rare few carrot cake stalls in Singapore that still make their own carrot cakes from scratch. Nearly all stalls in Singapore now get their "carrot" cakes ready made from factories.
My SGD4 large plate of Chay Sua fried carrot cake. There are SGD2 (small) and SGD3 (medium) servings.
Fried carrot cake usually comes in the "white" or the "black" version with dark soy sauce added. At Chey Sua, only "white" carrot cake is served following the tradition of the stall's founders more than 50 years ago.
The carrot cake is flat like a pan cake. Nicely browned outside and topped with a heap of chopped fresh scallion.
Small soft cubes of carrot cake were buried between the folds of the eggy crepe which is slightly crispy outside. The flavours were eggy and sweet punctuated with savoury sweet from crunchy bits of chai poh (preserved turnip). As we had asked for chili, a layer of mild spiciness permeated the dish.
Overall, Chay Sua carrot cake has nice layers of sweet, savoury and spicy flavours with interesting textures contrasting mushy soft carrot cake with slightly crispy eggs and crunchy chai poh.
The lady boss Shirley (and sister Grace) took over the business from their parents who first started the street side stall in Serangoon Gardens at the bus interchange over 50 years ago.
In 1972, they moved into the popular Chomp Chomp food centre nearby. This picture was taken on Chomp Chomp's opening day in 1972. Grace is the taller little girl on the left and the little girl on the right (in front) is Sharon.
After Chomp Chomp, Chey Sua moved here in Toa Payoh with Shirley and Grace running the stall for over 30 years. Sharon helps out on weekends.
Chey Sua is one of the few carrot cake stalls that still insists on making their own carrot cakes from scratch rather than getting their generic supply from factories. Everyday, after closing for the day's business, they start to make the carrot cakes for the next day. They get their red carrots and rice / tapioca flour from the wet market downstairs, so there is lots of synergy.
I have a strong bias in favour of stalls that make their food from scratch.
Shirley expertly fries the blend of beaten eggs and cubed carrot cake on one side. Vegetable oil (not lard) is used to fry the carrot cake.
Shirley flips the carrot cake over at the precise moment when it is nicely golden brown, not a moment too early (pale) or too late (chao tah or charred).
If you asked for chili, it will be smeared on the browned side of the searing hot carrot cake as a finishing touch.
Somebody ordered extra spicy ;-p
If you want to escape from generic factory made "carrot" cake, come to Chey Sua in Toa Payoh for the real thing. Place your order with Grace at the stall, return to you table and she will bring the plate to you once it is ready. Hence, you won't see a long line of people standing and waiting. (Waiting time is between 30 - 45 minutes during peak hours.)
Chey Sua is on the upper level of the Blk 127, Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre. Up here it is airy, clean and comfortable.
Restaurant name: Chey Sua Carrot Cake 青山菜头粿
Address: Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre, 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, #02-30, Singapore 310127
Map: http://bit.ly/CheySua
GPS: 1.338518, 103.843931
Nearest MRT: Braddell station
Hours: 6:00 am - 1:00 pm (Closed on Mon)
Tel: 98169412
Hours: 6:00 am - 1:00 pm (Closed on Mon)
Tel: 98169412
Date visited: 3 May 2015 | Reviewed 25 Aug 2022
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Hi Tony, I leave it to your discretion whether to post/edit this comment. But a part of me wishes to vent my frustrations after a negative experience at this hawker. Also, I hope this is useful feedback for the hawker if they happen to hear about the comments on this website.
ReplyDeleteHeard about this famous carrot cake from your website. So far your recommendations are generally good, so I went to try this out earlier this morning.
The warning sign was before I placed my order; the auntie taking order taking says in mandarin: "wait very long OK", but she does not provide a rough estimate how long it might be unlike other popular hawkers (e.g. the Serangoon Gardens Fried Hokkien Mee comes to mind). I think to myself: wow this must be really good that so many people are ordering. OK, I can wait. Even if 60-90 minutes is no problem. I have waited longer than that for the Crawford Lane Bak Chor Mee, even before they got their Michelin star.
An hour later after partly filling my belly with the nearby famous fried hokkien mee, I approach auntie again to enquire on the status of my order. Without even glancing at her order list she replies in mandarin: "still got very long to wait". At this point my frustration boils over. I can wait, but I cannot wait indefinitely. I won't even know whether or not you accidentally missed out my order if you don't bother to glance at your order list.
My suggestion to the hawker, at least give a rough estimate how long it takes. After all, they have been in the hawker business for so many years, they should be able to estimate how long it takes to fulfil xx number of orders.
Their food may be good, hence the roaring business, but the way they treat their customers needs to be improved. If I'm being generous, maybe the auntie taking order was having a bad day.
Thanks for reading this. And I sincerely hope this feedback can help the hawker improve on their customer relations.
Thank you. I can feel your frustration. May be can try again when the buzz over the Michelin awards has settled down a little... it's the hottest period now.. I imagine it's hard for both stall holders and customers now with the huge surge of crowd... wish you a better experience during your next visit. take care and thanks for visiting my blog.
DeleteThanks for the review. Went to try the carrot cake, but felt it looks nice, but doesn't taste as good.
ReplyDeleteits no big deal to have someone to be able to fry similarly to that, quarters , browning,chilli fried,
ReplyDelete