Plates of chye tow kueh (carrot cake) have been flying off the pans at Bee Bee Carrot Cake for the past two days after the stall became famous instantly when Joseph Schooling dropped by during his victory parade on Thursday morning (Aug 18).
Live streaming on news sites of the champion Olympic swimmer wolfing down his favourite black carrot cake in his neighbourhood has placed the stall and the lesser-known Marine Terrace Market and Hawker Centre in the limelight.
It was sold out in about three hours yesterday after foodies flocked to the stall, reported The Straits Times.
Chen Jingwen
The frenzy repeated this morning (Aug 20) when AsiaOne went down to check it out. The queue starting to form even before 7am.
Customers, who had placed their orders with stallholder Quek Bee Gek had to wait for as long as an hour to get their food. Her cousin, Madam Teo Kwee Lang, and an assistant were furiously cooking at two big griddles.
Upset with the much longer wait now, some regulars decided to go for something else for breakfast.
Said one woman in her 50s: “I give up. Usually, the waiting time could be 10, 20 or 40 minutes. But one hour is too long for me. So I have decided to eat nasi lemak instead.”
Another regular decided to join the queue at the other carrot cake stall called Shun Chang at the same market.
Said the housewife in her 60s: “I know it’s not great but I want to eat carrot cake today. I will take it back and fry it again with more ingredients like eggs.”
Pleas by impatient customers who had milled around Bee Bee stall drove Madam Quek up the wall although she tried to maintain her cool at most times. Slapping her head with both hands at one point, the near-helpless woman pleaded with them to wait for their turn.
“You have to wait two hours,” she barked at about 9am.
Was Bee Bee Carrot Cake worth the wait?
No, it wasn’t. Whether it was the black or white version which I waited almost an hour for, they pale in comparison to other better ones that I’ve tasted.
It was a carbo feast – chunky, spongy but tasty enough for passing marks – probably good enough for a big lug of a guy like Schooling who’s familiar with it since he was a kid.
While I was there, I tried the carrot cake at Shun Chang too. Sadly, it was grainy and over-fried.
So to fastidious eaters who would travel farther afield than neighbourhood Pokemon hunters to satisfy their tummies, the Marine Terrace carrot cakes just don’t cut it.
Two carrot cake masters at Toa Payoh Lorong 1:
Schooling fans might want to know that the food centre above the market at Block 127 in Toa Payoh Lorong 1 houses two very good carrot cake stalls. Prices are lower here, starting from $2 compared to $2.50 at Marine Terrace.
Chey Sua Carrot Cake
Run by Shirley Tay, the stall has the honour of the only carrot cake in Singapore to garner a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. She whips up only the white version in her own style to the hilt that I think she deserves a one Michelin star.
The soft home-made carrot cake is fried to an aromatic crisp with eggs on one side. Bold flavourings like her chilli sauce and preserved radish add to the overall taste sensation.
My wait of close to an hour was worth it, this time.
26 Carrot Cake
Named after its stall number, the family-run stall headed by a Mr Ng, who has been in the business for 40 years since the former food centre was located at street level.
The 69-year-old man inherited the art of making and frying carrot cake from his father, who was selling the dish on a pushcart when Toa Payoh was a sprawling village before it became a modern housing estate.
I bought only the black version to try so that I could compare it with Bee Bee’s.
The verdict? Ng’s carrot cake beats it hands down. Robust flavours like the burnt caramelised sweet sauce coating every small cube induced helping after helping.
Michelin inspectors, how about a Bib Gourmand for this one?
chenj@sph.com.sg
AsiaOne
