Carrot cakes and char kway teow are a dime a dozen in hawker centres. But, hidden from the spotlight are a few hawker foods that are slowly losing recognition among Singaporeans today.

Some of these hawker foods used to be thriving in our grandparents’ or parents’ generation but have gradually become endangered as more stalls give up passing on their legacies. But, we’re not going to just let them pass us by.

From rare Teochew kuehs to traditional Malay pancakes, we’ve dug up 8 vanishing hawker foods in Singapore you have to try before they’re gone forever and where to find them. Get a taste of your grandparents’ favourite dessert or your parent’s after-school snack!

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/chianghongkeat/

#1 BUBUR TERIGU

Resembling a paler-looking bubur hitam, the bubur terigu is a sweet wheat porridge. Boiled for at least an hour, the white wheat transforms into a sticky, gooey stew. It is usually sweetened with fragrant gula melaka and coconut milk to give it that extra oomph.

This traditional treat can be found stewing at a small handful of stalls such as Gong He Guan and Hua Jie Traditional Desserts.

Gong He Guan
28 Upper Cross St
Singapore 058337
Tel +65 6223 0562
Daily: 10.30am – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown

Hua Jie Traditional Desserts
17 Upper Boon Keng Rd, #01-70
Singapore 380017
Nearest Station: Boon Keng

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/pohcheukitchen/

#2 CHI KAK KUEH

Black sesame? Charcoal? Nope, it’s mugwort. Known as “chi kak kueh” or “shu ke kueh”, this Teochew snack features mugwort-infused skin stuffed with sweetened green bean paste. Similar to the more familiar ang ku kueh, it’s delightfully chewy on the outside.

Only a few stalls in Singapore make this rare type of kueh, such as Yan Seng Cooked Food and Poh Cheu Soon Kueh & Ang Ku Kueh.

Yan Seng Cooked Food
#01-313, Tekka Centre, 665 Buffalo Road
Singapore 210665
Tel +65 6314 0630
Daily: 6am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Little India

Poh Cheu Soon Kueh & Ang Ku Kueh
127 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-222
Singapore 150127
Tel +65 6276 2287
Mon – Sat: 8am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Queenstown

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/tonguedynasty/

#3 FUZHOU OYSTER CAKE

Resembling golden-brown UFOs, these Fuzhou oyster cakes are the perfect snack for when you’re craving a deep-fried indulgence. These flat discs are usually stuffed with oysters, minced pork, coriander and roasted peanuts. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these babies are super addictive.

You can find them at Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake and Fuzhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake.

Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake
1 Kadayanallur St, #01-05, Maxwell Food Centre
Singapore 069184
Mon – Sat: 9am – 8pm
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer

Fuzhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake
166 Jln Besar, #02-34
Singapore 208877
Tel +65 8112 5286
Daily: 10am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Lavender

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/lee.belinda.98/

#4 NOI JI SUAN

The lotus seed version of tau suan, this traditional dessert is basically a sweet lotus seed porridge. The lotus seeds are cooked till soft and crumbly, but with slightly more bite as compared to that of mung beans. Cooking this dish involves a pretty laborious process of removing the pith of each seed, which is probably why it’s getting harder to find.

Thankfully, House of Dessert in Tampines Round Market and Food Centre are still dedicating themselves to whipping up a solid bowl of noi ji suan.

House of Dessert
137A Tampines Street 11, Tampines Round Market and Food Centre, #01-02
Singapore 522137
Tues – Wed: 7am – 3pm
Fri – Sun: 7am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Tampines West

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/chianghongkeat/

#5 PIG TROTTER JELLY

Maybe the name of this dish alone is enough to make some of you gag. We’re not gonna lie, pig trotter jelly definitely has an acquired taste. For those of you who have never tried it, expect chilled gelatinous pork trotter stew cut into bite-sized strips. It is usually dipped in vinegary chili sauce to balance out the heavy, meaty flavour.

This Teochew delicacy can be found at Lao Liang Pig Trotter Jelly & Shark Meat in Jalan Berseh Food Centre.

Lao Liang Pig Trotter Jelly & Shark Meat
166 Jalan Besar, Jalan Berseh Food Centre, #02-37
Singapore 208877
Tues – Sun: 11am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Jalan Besar

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/theburpcouple/

#6 ROTI KIRAI

Roti kirai translates into “net bread”, which is pretty self-explanatory when you look at the snack. It is traditionally served on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.

Shaped like a tightly-woven lattice, this Malay dessert is made from flour, eggs, water and turmeric powder. It pairs wonderfully with curry but is delicious on its own too.

Get a taste of this delicacy at Roti Kirai Delights or Alimah’s Kitchen!

Roti Kirai Delights
851 Jurong West Street 81, #06-291
Singapore 640851
Tel +65 8498 5459
Mon – Fri: 12pm – 8pm
Sat – Sun: 12pm – 2am
Nearest Station: Pioneer

Alimah’s Kitchen
Block 2A Commonwealth Drive, Tanglin Halt Food Centre, #01-23
Singapore 141003
Nearest Station: Queenstown

#7 SWEET AND SALTY GLUTINOUS RICE

Most of us are probably familiar with lor mai kai and lotus leaf glutinous rice. But how about sweet and savoury glutinous rice? This type of glutinous rice was a breakfast staple in Singapore during the 1950s and 1960s, but has gradually lost its prominence in the hawker scene.

Loaded with stewed peanuts and fried shallots, the dish is irresistibly fragrant. The rice itself is chewy and sticky, with a good bite to it.

Millennium Glutinous Rice at Chinatown Complex Food Centre is the only one hawker stall which is known to be churning out this dish in Singapore.

Millennium Glutinous Rice
335 Smith St, #02-092, Chinatown Complex Food Centre
Singapore 050335
Mon – Sat: 7am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown

Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/goawaylobster/

#8 TAU KWA PAU

Char siew paus and tau sar paus have got nothing on the tau kwa pau. This rare gem sees deep fried tau kwa stuffed to the brim with a variety of ingredients — chopped fish cake, fried yam bits, hard-boiled egg and cucumber. Finished off with some thick savoury gravy, it makes for a really hearty meal.

Say Seng Tau Kwa Pau is the only stall left in Singapore that makes this delicious combo. Hurry down now to try this traditional delicacy before it goes extinct!

Say Seng Tau Kwa Pau
271 Onan Rd, Dunman Food Centre, #01-05
Singapore 424768
Tel +65 9488 7736
Tues – Sun: 8am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Eunos

Nyonya kueh is a true favourite among Singaporeans and Malaysians. From the rainbow-hued Lapis Sagu to the gula melaka-filled Ondeh Ondeh, these are the desserts you ate as a kid before the onset of cafes and ondeh-ondeh soft-serves.

Here’s a list of kueh you should know about! To those aspiring to get more connected with your Peranakan roots or even those who just simply love kueh, you will enjoy this list.

ANG KU KUEH

These squishy kueh are one of the most popular kueh in Singapore, originating from Fujian in China. It’s shaped like a tortoiseshell and its exterior is made from glutinous rice so it has a mochi-like sticky texture. The kueh is filled with peanuts, red bean paste and sometimes desiccated coconut. It’s said that eating an Ang Ku Kueh will bring prosperity!

Photo Credit: Instagram

BIKA AMBON

Hailing from Indonesia, this kueh is made from tapioca, eggs, sugar, yeast and coconut milk. Resembling a small disc-like cake, it can come in all sorts of flavours such as durian, chocolate and even savoury cheese! It has a squishy and chewy texture that’s super satisfying to munch on.

Photo Credit: Instagram

HUAT KUEH

Huat Kueh are fluffy steamed cakes that can come in a whole spectrum of colours. They’re often infused with natural flavours such as pandan, rose and gula melaka. They are traditionally eaten for Chinese New Year and are popular among children as it’s easy to eat. Their texture can be likened to a cloud-like Japanese milk loaf.

Photo Credit: Instagram

KUEH DADAR

These pandan pancake rolls are also a hot favourite in kueh-lovers’ books. They’re flavoured with pandan leaves and filled with a sweet filling made from gula melaka and desiccated coconuts. It’s a super sweet treat that can be enjoyed by people of all ages!

KUEH KO SUI

Photo Credit: Instagram

This kueh is made from both tapioca and rice flour, combined with sweet gula melaka. It’s also sometimes infused with natural pandan flavour. The chewy kueh is tossed in sweetened desiccated coconut for a nice texture and contrast in colour. It also kind of looks like a brown Turkish delight!

KUEH LAPIS

A must-have at every family gathering on Chinese New Year, this indulgent treat is everyone’s favourite guilty pleasure snack. It’s a layered cake enriched with an ungodly amount of egg yolks and some pandan flavour. It comes in all sorts of colours and flavours nowadays such as chocolate, rainbow and raisin. Memories over calories, as they say!

KUEH SALAT

Made with chewy, sticky glutinous rice, coconut milk and a pandan egg custard, this kueh is also super popular. It requires a meticulous and arduous process to make but once it reaches the table, it’s usually gone within seconds. Occasionally, the white glutinous rice is tinted with blue pea flower for a pretty marbled effect.

Photo Credit: Instagram

LAPIS SAGU/RAINBOW KUEH

The prettiest face of Peranakan kueh, lapis sagu is something everyone had as a child. Growing up, these multi-coloured kuehs would line up at traditional bakeries and kueh stalls in a pleasant spectrum of pastel colours. Made with coconut milk, tapioca and rice flour, the kueh are simple yet so delicious! Peel the layers individually or just pop them into your mouth to enjoy it.

ONDEH ONDEH

Known for its vibrant green and white exterior, this kueh has been transformed into a local flavour that’s creeped its way into many desserts and sweet treats in cafes all over Singapore! It’s made with a glutinous rice and pandan exterior and filled with gula melaka syrup. The balls of kueh are then tossed in desiccated coconut. Ondeh ondeh is truly one of the most iconic kueh in Singapore.

Photo Credit: Instagram

KUEH TALAM UBI

This steamed kueh consists of tapioca, desiccated coconut and gula melaka. Looking like a sweet slice of fudge, this kueh is also one of the sweeter ones so it’s super popular with kids and those who have a sweet tooth. It has a nice “QQ” texture when you bite into it!

Photo Credit: Instagram

PURPLE YAM TALAM UBI

Despite its bright purple hue, this is actually a milder version of the gula melaka Talam Ubi kueh. Infused with sweet yam, it offers an earthy and mildly sweet edge to the coconut-tapioca kueh.

Photo Credit: Instagram

REMPAH UDANG

This kueh is made with glutinous rice and shrimp paste, wrapped in pandan leaves and the occasional banana leaf. The sticky glutinous rice is sometimes dyed with blue pea flower extract to give it a nice indigo shade. It’s one of our favourite savoury kueh, you simply have to try it!