Chwee Kueh

Chwee Kueh used to be something that Chinese usually ate for breakfast. But as with many other foods, the voracious Singaporeans manage to convert it into something that is eaten throughout the day. Personally I feel it's rather light, meaning that it feels like more of an appetiser rather than a meal. The sight of this food reminds me of one of the silly little troubles I faced when growing up:

Chwee Kueh actually has a name in Mandarin (chwee kueh is the name in Hokkien dialect). The Mandarin name is Shui Guo, which sounds exactly like Fruit in Mandarin. So when I was young, my teacher always told us to converse in proper Mandarin. So the problem came when I wanted to eat this food. Do I tell the owner I want chwee kueh (Hokkien. Unacceptable) or shui guo (might be mistaken as trying to buy fruit and be laughed at)? So the answer was simple: ask mom to buy it or eat something else. But as time went by and I knew more words, I realised that there's nothing wrong with using dialect. Plus there's no way to avoid it either. Lots of food names are in Hokkien, like char kway teow, hum (cockles), ban jian kueh, or lua and many more. Since I'm such a foodie, I just can't resist all of them. Dang, the need to survive can really change a person. "Boss, one chwee kueh eat here!"

A great stall that sells chwee kueh is a stall located at Jurong West St 52 Food Center, stall no.01-27: Tiong Bahru Jian Bo Shui Kueh. The chwee kueh is exceptional in that the combination of the mild tasting and translucent kueh, the chye poh and aromatic chilli go really well together. The kueh is very soft but not squishy or sticky. The chye poh ( a diced preserved vegetable) is very crunchy and not too salty, unlike some stalls I had patronised. The chilli is not too hot and has special ingredients that make it very aromatic. So can you imagine the oral ecstacy of chewing such a marvellous combination? Why bother to? Just go try it today!