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When you get popiah outside, it typically comes perfectly wrapped and ready-to-eat. But where’s the fun in that? Good Chance Popiah located in Bukit Merah spices things up, and you can make your own popiah just like you would during CNY.
Personally, I associate popiah with CNY reunion dinners, so there’s always a sense of nostalgia that comes with the process of wrapping it myself. Good Chance Popiah emulates the experience, but with added convenience like no other.
In English, 好彩薄饼 (Hǎo cǎi báobǐng) means something along the lines of just nice or luck(ily) popiah — so the name, Good Chance Popiah, is quite apt in this sense. Rather than having to do all the work and intensive prep work for your popiah party or gathering, Good Chance Popiah does the work for you.
The family-run store is already in its 3rd generation and has many loyal customers! The interior of the store is lined with picture after picture of celebrities posing together with current store owner, Mr Boon Kaichun (also known affectionately as Ah Boy).
What I tried at Good Chance Popiah
When one goes to a popiah place, the no-brainer order would be the popiah. So, I went ahead and got the Good Chance Signature DIY Popiah (6 pieces) (S$26). Being a DIY dish, each component came in separate saucers and there was a good amount of turnip filling for us to build our popiah from scratch.
According to the menu, the key components of the popiah filling is cabbage, turnip, carrot, bamboo shoot, leeks, french beans and shrimp.
On its own, the filling was flavourful with loads of umami and was very moist. Yet, in terms of texture, I found it to be somewhat lacklustre and a tad too mushy for my preference.
Ever added pepper or soy sauce to your popiah? Neither have I, so I was rather taken aback to find these two bottles provided for my popiah dressing session.
On closer inspection, though, the bottles in fact housed ground peanut and sweet sauce respectively. How neat!
If you’ve never made popiah in your life, trust that you’ll be in good hands. Good Chance Popiah gives a good chance (pardon the pun) to try making one on your own. The staff will guide you through the step-by-step process of making the popiah, starting from the ideal order of ingredients and concluding with the technique of squeezing out any excess liquid from the filling.
Once you’ve wrapped the popiah up, it’s now ready to be devoured. The flavours of the popiah were extremely cohesive, and the crunch from the peanuts helped to add interest to the dish.
Personally, I would recommend adding the XO Chinese Sausage (S$7.80) or Sliced Prawn (S$9.80 for small) toppings to make your meal more hearty and satisfying. Don’t get me wrong, the bare-bones popiah here is pretty decent, but the addition of meat certainly makes it better.
Observing that several other tables were enjoying what seemed to be fried balls, we decided to follow suit and ordered the same. One plate of hei zho, or the Home-made Prawn Roll was S$16.80 for medium, and had a good 8 pieces for the small plate — perfect for sharing!
Each piece was stuffed to its edges with mashed yam and a mixture of pork and prawn paste. The fried, crispy skin was pure bliss — not in the least bit oily or jelak.
I actually thought these were cut-up ngoh hiang at first glance; they’re pretty similar taste-wise, except that these felt more substantial and satisfying. If you choose to get just one side, let it be the Home-made Prawn Rolls.
Final Thoughts
More than anything, the charm of Good Chance Popiah really lies in the DIY aspect of their popiah. The concept of Good Chance Popiah is remarkable in its delivery: make it how you like it while enjoying the reunion dinner-esque atmosphere.
Nonetheless, I believe the price paid was more for the experience rather than the exceptional quality of the food. While the food was by no means bad, it lacked a certain oomph that would make me want to make a special trip down.
But if you’re in a pinch, and really miss the process of wrapping popiah with friends or family, Good Chance Popiah is an excellent place to visit!
Order Delivery: foodpanda
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