There are many very good food stalls at 216 Bedok hawker centre, and this You Zha Kueh stall has the longest queue - this should tell us something 🤔 This you char kway stall in 216 Bedok market & food centre opens only on Tuesdays and Fridays - yes, only two days a week.
Truth be told, I never had the patience to queue at You Zha Kueh stall - the queue is just too long and there are many excellent alternatives here at 216 Bedok. Once I queued, but gave up half way after seeing people ordering bagfuls of fried fritters. The queue is long and moves slowly because of many large orders. Everything is freshly made at the stall, from hand kneading the dough to deep frying.
Then one day, the stall holders were cleaning up after closing (around noon). I tried my luck: "Do you have any you cha kway?" 😄
Yes, they have but only a charcoal one - no more classic you char kway. I took it anyway (even though I am not a fan of gimmicky stuff).
Other than the unappetising black colour, everything else looks perfect. The fried fritter was not greasy at all, even though it wasn't fresh off the wok. It was studded with toasted sesame seeds.
The you char kway felt very light. It was crisp outside and tender chewy to the bite, yet airy inside. The clean tasting fried fritter had a slight savoury taste with a bit of nuttiness from sesame seeds. The best part is there was more or less zero grease. (Overused oil and excessive slick are my you char kway pet peeves.)
They also have a green tea you char kway. Wanna try? 🤔
Any fans of 216 Bedok You Zha Kueh stall here? Any tips on what to order?
The Cantonese term yaw char kwai and Hokkien you char kway are less used today in Singapore, replaced by the Mandarin youtiao. Superficially, yaw char kwai, you char kway and youtiao are just different languages' name for the same thing i.e. Chinese fried crullers.
But, the name you char kway tells the story of the fried fritter's origin and a parable about betrayal, loyalty and honour. When the term you char kway disappears from Singapore, we also lose an intangible cultural heritage.
That's why I prefer the term you char kway instead of youtiao 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 25 Dec 2021
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