Sister Liu San Jie Fried Carrot Cake in Johor Jaya Bakawali Liang Bahru Coffee Shop 刘三姐菜头粿

刘三姐菜头粿 | 128 Jalan Bakawali 49, Taman Johor Jaya, 81100 Johor Bahru (intersection with Jalan Bakawali 13) stall inside Kedai Makanan Liang Bahru ⏰ 8am - 11am (Thurs off)

劉三姐 is a well loved fried carrot cake boss in the relatively quiet Bakawali section of Taman Johor Jaya. 劉三姐 has been here for over three decades.

劉三姐 Fried Carrot Cake is one of the stalls at this neighbourhood corner coffee shop where locals meet for breakfast and lunch. The other stalls serve wanton noodle and chicken rice - both are also popular like Sister Liu.

劉三姐 holding court, one of the most famous fried carrot cake in town.

劉三姐's carrot cake is house made with radish, and a few different types of rice flour.

劉三姐 used a lot of eggs in each serving but it was not the "omelette" type of fried carrot cake like here in Singapore, with small cubes of kueh held together like a thick pancake with eggs.

劉三姐 stir-fries her chunky carrot cake with diced garlic, chai poh, eggs, bean sprouts, scallion, sweet savoury soy sauce, peanut oil and optional chili paste.

Only one serving size, RM8. It's a huge heap. I didn't felt like eating anything else this morning after this carrot cake.

The pieces of kueh were tender (not soft). Some pieces had char outside from the searing wok and sizzling peanut oil. There was neither much radish sweetness nor moistness (almost like a rice cake / koay kak 粿角). Fried with sweet and savoury sauce with eggs, it tasted sweet eggy savoury in that order. Slightly greasy.

Generous with bits of crunchy sweet savoury chai poh (preserved radish) and lots of juicy sweet crunchy fresh taugeh. (Bean sprouts are quite common in Malaysian fried carrot cake, though it is rarely if ever seen in their Singapore counterparts.)

I requested for the optional chili but it didn't alter the basic sweet eggy savoury taste profile much. If you like it hot, you have to stress to 劉三姐 that you like it extra hot.

From my perch, I can see and hear 劉三姐 working the breakfast shift non-stop. Constant rhythmic clanging of her pair of iron spatulas like drumsticks striking the wok.