The first place that comes to my mind when I think of good ang ku kueh (‘red tortoise cake’, a round or oval shaped Chinese-style pastry made of glutinous rice flour skin with a sweet filling) is actually not anywhere in Singapore but Season Bakery in Johor Bahru. My mum loves their ang ku kueh a lot and I totally understand why because the skin of their ang ku kueh is so thin and soft and its filling is always thick and compact. Very tasty too.
When I came by Alexandra Village Food Centre the other day and was just walking around to explore the neighbourhood, I spotted a long queue at Poh Cheu which specialises in handmade soon kueh and ang ku kueh.
I went up to the stall to have a closer look and I saw an array of colourful ang ku kueh on display. So tempted to buy them so I joined the queue.
They had 12 different types of ang ku kueh. Each flavour was represented by a different colour except peanut and green bean which were both red.
Just look at those colours. So pretty!
I requested one of each flavour that was available (9 out of 12) and added 1 more piece of green bean. Each ang ku kueh was priced at S$0.90 each.
This was indeed a fantastic ang ku kueh. Each ang ku kueh was round and plump unlike most others that were slightly flatter in shape. The skin was thin, soft, smooth and oily (not rubbery at all) and the filling was thick, dense and perfectly seasoned.
How did the flavours fare after I had tried all?
- Green bean – fragrant, robust tasting
- Yam – like smooth yam puree, flavour not as intense but it had a nice fudgy texture
- Green tea – more like green tea flavoured lotus seed paste, smooth with a strong fragrance of green tea
- Red bean – smooth paste but too sweet, still like it though ‘cos I like anything red bean anyway
- Peanut – coarsely ground peanuts that gave a nice crunch, roasted flavour
- Pineapple – artificial, just like those ready made pineapple paste, tasted weird
- Salted bean – reminded me of salted tau sar piah filling but this melted in the mouth, peppery taste
- Mango – artificial, not much mango flavour
- Durian – first bite came with a hint of durian flavour but none after that, tasted like the green bean one but with artificial flavour
My favourites would have to be the green bean, yam, red bean and peanut. I preferred the traditional flavours to the non-conventional ones. Worth giving them a try if you’re a fan of ang ku kueh.
Poh Cheu Handmade Ang Ku Kueh
127 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-230
Singapore 150127
Tel: +65 6276 2287
Facebook page
Website: http://www.pohcheu.com/
Opening hours:
8am to 6pm (Mon-Sat)
Closed on Sundays