Where have all the good food gone?

By: Larissa Ng

Right now when people think of snacks, for majority, all that comes to mind is the usual potato chips or junk food.

Sometimes people forget something exist because they haven’t seen it in awhile right? Well maybe it’s because you’re not looking in the right places! Good Ol’ Goodies has made its mission to help you locate the hidden goodies that once were so popular around Singapore. From agar agar jelly to ice gems to even pandan cake, they are no longer available anywhere you want them to be. Let’s just take it as them playing a little game of hide and seek now shall we.

As a little girl, my grandfather used to head to the kopitiam opposite our home to meet his friends for their daily coffee and he’d used to always buy for me either chee cheong fun, chwee kueh or putu mayam (because I was and still am, a fussy eater). And it got me thinking “hey, I haven’t seen putu mayam being sold anywhere in a very long time!” Then I chanced upon this article online here, and came to realize that these food haven’t actually gone out of business, they’re just being sold at places that aren’t brought to light!

So let’s begin with Putu Mayam.

Putu Mayam came to Singapore from India and was usually sold along the streets by people on bicycles or carts. It soon became a thing of the past when the roadside stalls were asked to move into hawker stalls.  However, slowly but surely, Putu Mayam crept it’s way back into the market and started being sold again. It isn’t readily available in your typical food courts like Kou Fu, Banquet and Kopitiam but more in your heartland hawker centers.

Here’s to name a few:

Heaven’s Curry (from the article)

Kampong at Simpang Bedok

348 Bedok Road, Bedok Market Place

#02-08

Operating hours: 8am-9pm, Closed on Sunday

Republic Polytechnic

ECanteen, North Food Court

Stall #11 - Indian Muslim

Next up, let’s talk about ice gems!

These were my favourite things to eat as a kid and even now when I come across them I squeal like a little girl (I always like eating the icing first followed by the biscuit!) Nowadays, the only way to find these is usually when they’re pre-packed and sold in the supermarkets. Until one day when I was heading out to eat after church, I came across this little provision shop that sold all the old biscuits, the sort that are in those big tins! This way, they were fresh right out of the tin and not already packed and lying there for god knows how long.

Seletar Hills Groceries

35 Jalan Selaseh (at the junction of Jalan Selaseh and Jalan Lakum)

Biscuit King
130 Casuarina Road
Singapore 579518
Operating hours:
Tues-Sat: 11am to 10pm
Sun: 12pm to 10pm
Closed every Monday
biscuitking.com.sg

And now it’s for one I have yet to mention so far…Goreng Pisang!

Along with other fried goodies like cempadak (fried jackfruit), sweet potato, yam and green bean, these foods have been out of sight for a while. Coming around only whenever there is a Pasar Malam in your neighbourhood, other than that, they’re pretty difficult to find! But over the weekend, while on a tiny family vacation to Changi V hotel to celebrate my dad’s birthday, I saw a stall in Changi Village that sold them!

Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang

Blk 2 Changi Village Road

Changi Village Market and Food Centre


#01-15

Opening hours: Tues-Sun: 9:30am-9:00pm; Closed on Mondays

Well these are just some of the few old time favourites that are supposedly missing but actually are just waiting to be found. And I shall do my best to be Indiana Jones and locate as many as I can!

If you have any more that I failed to mention and maybe you know where they’re located, share them with me, so I can share them with everyone else and maybe one day these foods will make it back to the big leagues! 

Credit: Google Images