304. Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake

Phew! Finally, I managed to post. My lappy went on a 'strike' and I sent it for a week of 'free counselling'. It came back to me with a healthy 'heart' but when I wanted to post, blogger has had problems with its post editor which made me keep my post for another 2 days.

During this period, I came across a few readings on the different perspectives towards living life and I pondered how the rest of the people perceived this food blog. Frankly speaking, I am no food critic nor connoisseur, I merely shared my dining experiences. Be it good or bad or even to the extreme, I blogged my felts. Everyone has a different taste and acceptance level when it comes to eating. I particularly hate it when people take my words and twist the meaning behind it. Just like people who lack originality in writing and chose to plagarize. C'est la guerre !

Located at a corner of the halal coffeeshop at clementi where the famous Brothers rojak is, my colleague introduced to me this tutu kueh (steamed rice flour cake) made with the Tan family's heirloom recipe (stated on their namecard). I have not heard of them until my colleague recommended it to me. I often go to clementi for lunch and I know it is a hit with regulars, my colleague is one. Filled with ground peanuts or grated coconut, get 4 for $2 or 10 for $5.

I had it hot, it was very nice. It was soft and the coconut fillings which was mixed with gula melaka released a pleasing fragrance. The sweetness was just right for me. My mum finds it a tad too sweet. Another time, I had them packed and 10 minutes later, the tutu kueh turned hard and it wasn't nice. So, remember to have them hot.

Extra: The popiah stall which is just right beside Tan's tutu kueh is also a hit!

View Larger Map

Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake

Blk 449 #01-211

Clementi Avenue 3

164. Pumpkin Flowered Buns

I named the pumpkin flowered buns. The skin was made with pumpkin and moulded in the shape of flowers. The texture was like that of soon kueh's. Though the buns were not nicely moulded, the bright orange yellowish skin made them so appealing. I had some of them filled with turnip like our soon kueh and others filled with chives. The chives ones were better in taste. Yum Yum....

160. Steamed Egg Cake

Piping hot steamed egg cake for tea-time. Steamed egg cake made the traditional way. A bite into the fluffy steamed egg cake evoked a sense of deja vu. Remember the days when there wasn't even an electric beater. The steamed egg cakes sold in the bakeries have had baking powder which made the cakes 'huat' and thus resulted in the split surface. Too much baking powder is no good for the body. So, me and my mum made this steamed egg cake that was baking powder free. It 'huat-ed' too even without baking powder.

The steamed egg cake we made wasn't too sweet. I could spread my favourite wild blueberry jam from St Dalfour onto it. It was so tasty. I'm not praising my mum and myself but maybe because the steamed egg cake was made by ourselves, it simply taste delicious! Yummy~

124. Making of Steamed Egg Cake

After umpteenth times of failure on making the skin of the Teochew png kueh, my mum turned her enthusiasm into making steamed egg cake. It's a big fuss when you don't use a electric beater. Manually, can you believe it? Imagine beating the eggs for 1 hour non-stop. Kudos to the early women who made such cakes. I bet their cakes tasted salty, from the beads of perspiration dripped into the mixture. Haha. Just kidding. Their cakes definitely tasted nice because they were made with so much efforts.

Luckily, the steamed egg cakes did huat. Huat meant the split on the cake's surface. In traditional baking, if your steamed egg cake didn't have the splits, it means it is not a successful attempt.

78. Making of Ang Ku Kuehs

I didn't realise making of the ang ku kuehs is so easy until my auntie (kueh-making veteran) demonstrated it. The process is what you saw in the picture grid which goes from left to right. First, you make the mung bean paste. Get the mung beans from the market, steamed it until you can mash them into paste. Roll them into balls for easier handling. Maybe, you can get ready-made mung bean paste from bakeries or supermarkets. If you make the mung bean paste yourself, you can control the amount of sugar you want to add to it. More health-conscious.

Next, prepare the dough, the skin of the ang ku kueh. Give the dough a good massage till it is pliable. Divide the dough into small portions, each portion enough to wrap the mung bean ball. Spread the dough and wrap the mung bean ball. Smoothed the surface of the ball by tossing it between your two palms. Press the ball into the mould to get the surface printed. Cut banana leaves into suitable sizes. Place the kuehs onto the banana skin ready for steaming. Place the kuehs into the steamer where the water is boiling. 10 mins is all you need to wait for ready-to-serve ang ku kuehs!!