Ah Kong Wa Kuih @ Chinatown Complex • Rare Traditional Hokkien Steamed Rice Cake in Singapore 阿公碗粿 • 福建碗粿

Wa Kuih is a rare dish in Singapore, whether at home or in hawker centres. It is a humble dish originally from China's Fujian province. Today, it is mostly associated with Taiwanese street food.  Ah Kong Wa Kuih in Chinatown Complex is one of the rare few (five?) Wa Kuih stalls in Singapore.

Stall name: Ah Kong Wa Kuih 阿公碗粿

Address: 335 Smith Street, stall #02-116, Singapore 050335 (Chinatown Complex Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: Chinatown station

Hours: 7:30am till 12:00 noon

Mr Tan opened this stall two years ago, just before the Covid 19 pandemic. He named it Ah Kong Wa Kuih as his maternal grandfather sold Wa Kuih in the 1940s. 

Mr Tan offers a very simple and humble rendition of the dish - sort of "Wa Kuih kosong" for $2.50. It is literally what the Hokkien Chinese name 碗粿 say it is - a rice pudding or cake in a bowl cooked by steaming.

The wa kuih is served transferred to a small plastic tub, slathered with sauce and topped with sambal and minced raw garlic.

It is just a bowl of rice flour solution with bits of dried shrimp, fried shallot, and stewed mushroom embedded inside, steamed to make a pudding.

The resulting rice cake is tender - I quite like the soft smooth texture. The tenderness was consistent throughout the cake. The rice cake was subtly sweet but there was no rice taste (wish there was some). The bits of embedded hae bee, fried shallot and stewed mushroom added savoury flavours and different textures. The gooey blanket of savoury sweetish brown sauce (lor in Hokkien), a spoonful each of sambal (chili sauce) and minced raw garlic added more layers of flavours and a bit of chili / garlicky heat. 

Wa Kuih is the Hokkien answer to the Teochew chwee kueh (sans chai poh). There are more elaborate versions of Wa Kuih with meat, lard and egg fillings in Taiwan. Also reminds me of the Cantonese lo mai gai but with rice flour solution instead of glutinous rice.

Don't think many contemporary palates will be blown away with culinary delight by this but a few of us may get wet in the eyes from this rare nostalgic treat which Ah Kong or Ah Mah made a long, long time ago.

Do support Mr Tan to keep this Hokkien culinary artefact alive in Singapore.

Please share your wa kueh memories 🙏

       

                     

             

             

               

               

             

           

           

           

                         

           

             

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            A post shared by Tony Boey Johor Kaki (@johorkaki)          

       

     

            

Written by Tony Boey on 27 Oct 2021

Wa Kueh in Taiwan