Eats - Putu Piring

What is it? 

Putu piring is a Malay sweet snack made from rice flour by steaming. Traditionally, it has a moist gula Melaka (coconut sugar) center, which in my opinion is the only kind you'll ever need. However, you may also be able to choose from a variety of fillings depending on which stall you go to. Common offerings include peanut, kaya (coconut jam), chocolate and red bean paste. For more adventurous taste buds, this stall that I visited also offers durian, cempedak (petite cousin of jackfruit), banana and pineapple. These soft and delicate steamed rice cakes are served with a side of freshly grated coconut. A note of caution: You will most probably also find tiny pieces of banana leaves in your order - those are not to be eaten, simply because there is no way you can chew your way through them. They are used for adding that little bit of fragrance when placed together with the steaming hot cakes. 

How to order? 

They are usually sold in threes or fours and it doesn't have to be the same filling for all, so you can specify how many of which filling you want. Since this is mostly a to-go snack, you do not have to specify that you want to "eat here" or "take away" unlike most other Singaporean street food. However, it is eaten best when still warm and fluffy, so you may want to ask the mak-cik (aunty) or pak-cik (uncle) not to wrap it up if you are eating them immediately, as that will cause the cakes to become slightly damp like in the picture above.

My recommendation 

Mr. Putu 

in the coffee shop @ Blk 101, Yishun Avenue 5 (this area is also known as Chong Pang to locals)

Price: 3 for $1

Personal note 

Unless you have tried Gula Melaka (coconut sugar) and do not like it, please do give putu piring with gula Melaka filling a try. I am not a coconut lover at all but I have to say this is a perfect combination. This is a rather light snack and is not very sweet, a perfect between-meals snack or dessert to end off a street food meal. This is one of those food that is becoming very hard to find in Singapore, so if you do chance upon it, you are pretty lucky!

Alternatives

Food-wise: 

Indian putu mayam and Chinese kueh tu-tu. In fact putu piring and kueh tu-tu are the Malay and Chinese's modified versions of putu mayam respectively! Personally, putu piring is my favorite :)

Location-wise:

Hup Lee Fried Bee Hoon in the same coffee shop is a crowd favorite for an inexpensive round-the-clock meal with main staple offerings of bee hoon (rice vermicelli), kway teow (flat rice noodles), mee (egg noodles) or nasi lemak (fragrant coconut rice) and your choice of vegetable or meat side dishes, all piled in the same plate alongside a spoonful of what I think is the actual star of the meal - nasi lemak chilli paste.

Another notable mention is the fruit stalls round the corner - they sell some of the cheapest kick-ass Malaysian durians in town during the durian season (June - August). If you are not a fan of the pungent fruit, you may want to stay away!