22 Jul 2007, ST
By Thng Lay Teen
ONCE you bite into a peanut pancake (ming jiang kueh) from this stall in Tanglin Halt market, you'll be hooked.
Blame it on its freshly roasted nuts. The aroma hits you once you nibble the 60-cent snack, and in a most pleasant way.
You understand why when you learn that hawker Teng Kiong Seng, 62, devotes one whole day to carefully handpicking 100kg of nuts that will last him the whole week, and then supervises their roasting at a factory.
The nuts are so flavourful that customers have been asking for more of them to be sprinkled over the pancake. Teng's wife generously accedes.
The best thing is, you don't have to worry about the finely ground nuts spilling out as you eat because each peanut pancake is neatly placed in a paper case.
What I also like is how the dough is thick, a little moist and springy.
Teng says that no baking powder or essence is used as he is a fan of natural ingredients.
He inherited the 40-year-old recipe from his mother-in-law who used to operate a pancake stall but has since retired.
Besides the peanut version, check out the red bean paste pancake (60 cents) which is not too sweet, and the pandan leaf green bean pancake (also 60 cents). The latter is a tad too sweet for me, but you can tell that real pandan leaves are used, not artificial essence.
Pity that the filling in the yam paste pancake (90 cents) is a bit too runny.
Many of Teng's regulars have been buying from him for the last two to three decades and his snacks are so popular that people order them in bulk for functions.
And he doesn't compromise on quality. If he runs out of roasted nuts, he won't open his stall.
Which was why I found it closed one Thursday morning when I made a trip there (it is usually closed on Mondays and Fridays).
Sadly, I had to turn back - but I returned another day. After all, good food is worth waiting for.
------------------------------------
Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake
Stall 16 Tanglin Halt Market, 48 Tanglin Halt Road
Open: 4.30 to 11.30am, closed on Mondays and Fridays
Rating: ***
By Thng Lay Teen
ONCE you bite into a peanut pancake (ming jiang kueh) from this stall in Tanglin Halt market, you'll be hooked.
Blame it on its freshly roasted nuts. The aroma hits you once you nibble the 60-cent snack, and in a most pleasant way.
You understand why when you learn that hawker Teng Kiong Seng, 62, devotes one whole day to carefully handpicking 100kg of nuts that will last him the whole week, and then supervises their roasting at a factory.
The nuts are so flavourful that customers have been asking for more of them to be sprinkled over the pancake. Teng's wife generously accedes.
The best thing is, you don't have to worry about the finely ground nuts spilling out as you eat because each peanut pancake is neatly placed in a paper case.
What I also like is how the dough is thick, a little moist and springy.
Teng says that no baking powder or essence is used as he is a fan of natural ingredients.
He inherited the 40-year-old recipe from his mother-in-law who used to operate a pancake stall but has since retired.
Besides the peanut version, check out the red bean paste pancake (60 cents) which is not too sweet, and the pandan leaf green bean pancake (also 60 cents). The latter is a tad too sweet for me, but you can tell that real pandan leaves are used, not artificial essence.
Pity that the filling in the yam paste pancake (90 cents) is a bit too runny.
Many of Teng's regulars have been buying from him for the last two to three decades and his snacks are so popular that people order them in bulk for functions.
And he doesn't compromise on quality. If he runs out of roasted nuts, he won't open his stall.
Which was why I found it closed one Thursday morning when I made a trip there (it is usually closed on Mondays and Fridays).
Sadly, I had to turn back - but I returned another day. After all, good food is worth waiting for.
------------------------------------
Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake
Stall 16 Tanglin Halt Market, 48 Tanglin Halt Road
Open: 4.30 to 11.30am, closed on Mondays and Fridays
Rating: ***
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