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My bestie had waxed lyrical about the offerings at 20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre. Coincidentally, Heaven’s, the sensational Appam store, is located in the very same food centre; I knew I had to head down to have a taste myself.
If I were to be perfectly honest, I have never gone out of my way for appam, or even thosai, for my morning fix. I’m really more of a congee or chai tow kueh person, so this was truly a first for me.
But I guess I must’ve really been missing out. The appam here is almost otherworldly.
Sitting in large pots were a trio of sauces: bright orange tomato chutney, whitish coconut chutney and deep yellow dhal. The intense red-orange colour of the tomato chutney was a sight to behold.
What I tried at Heavens
I settled for the Princess Appam (S$4) after a quick browse through the menu at Heavens. It caught my eye for its name.
The Princess Appam had a heavenly (pardon the pun), buttery aroma and amazingly crisp thin edges.
The dish featured a slice of melted cheese, loads of butter and a fried egg in the centre. Indeed, “dressed” like royalty, the Princess Appam had it all. For something bare-bones, Heaven’s Plain Appam goes for just S$4 for 2 pieces. I do wish my stomach were bigger, as I would have ordered those in a heartbeat, too.
The appam had a delightful sour tang with super crisp edges and a soft, spongy, moist centre. Its texture reminded me somewhat of min jiang kueh, and I enjoyed it even without the addition of the provided grated coconut and sugar.
Definitely enjoy it hot, though, as it rapidly loses the amazing texture as it cools.
When I heaped on the orange sugar and freshly grated savoury coconut, the appam felt even more delicious and sinful… if that was possible. The buttery appam, when eaten with the toppings, was pure bliss.
Determined to try more items from the famous Heavens, I asked the boss what their best sellers were. To my dismay, or rather, bemusement, he said, “Actually, everything is our best seller.” Wow.
Too stunned to speak, I went with the other glammed-up item on the menu, the Royal Thosai (S$5.50).
The Royal Thosai came with all 3 of the sauces from the ominous cauldrons that I had previously come across; the spicy tomato chutney sitting in the metal tray smelled almost smoky. Like the Princess Appam, the Royal Thosai had a rich buttery scent.
Cutting into the thosai with my cutlery, I pulled apart the ultra-thin crust to reveal its secrets. The Royal Thosai was packed with potato masala that had loads of onion, cheese and egg. Contrasted against the buttery and thin crust, the rounded flavour of the filling was like an explosion in my mouth. Simply divine.
Unlike the appam, however, I found that the thosai did not remain crisp for nearly as long. But I think that can be attributed to the large amount of rich filling inside it.
Of the 3 sauces, I absolutely LOVED the spicy tomato chutney. It was definitely on the spicy side as compared to their dhal, but everything down to the char was simply spectacular. Extremely fragrant with plenty of onion, chilli and other spices, the tomato chutney is the sauce to keep an eye out for.
The spicy, smokey chutney went extremely well with the milder flavours of the potato masala in the thosai, and I kept going back in with my spoon even after finishing my meal.
Final Thoughts
Like the store name, Heaven’s indeed serves up heavenly appam and thosai. While I wish there was a better guide on what to try for noobs like me, taking my pick on the royal flush wasn’t too bad an idea after all.
I shall be back to try other fare from Heavens like the Puttu Mayam (S$2.80 for 2 pieces) — the store owner did say everything was their best seller.
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