Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Carrot cake is one of my favourite local delights. Sadly, due to manpower issues and time constraints, many places do not make their carrot cake from scratch anymore.
When I found out Heng Leong Carrot Cake 兴隆菜头粿 still made their own carrot cake, I had to make a trip down to Pek Kio Market & Food Centre to have a taste.
As I queued up for my carrot cake, I saw boxes of radish stacked up outside their stall.
Indeed, Heng Leong Carrot Cake makes their own radish cakes, unlike most places who get them from suppliers.
At the back of their stall, there were metal containers used to steam the radish cakes. The uncle who was frying would cut the radish cake up and toss them into his pan when an order was placed.
An auntie would be in the front taking orders and serving them up.
We all know carrot cake comes in either black or white, but since there were only two items on the menu, I decided to get one of each.
The Black Carrot Cake (S$2) was served to me first. I must say, for just S$2, it was a generous portion. You can hardly get many dishes in Singapore for that price anymore.
With the way its fragrance wafted into my nose, I had high expectations for this simple plate of carrot cake.
Unlike most places where the carrot cake pieces are minced up into small cubes, here they were in huge chunks which I actually preferred.
This allowed more flavour to permeate into the radish cake. I also liked that each piece was smooth and soft, yet had a nice bite to it because of its size.
There was a decent amount of eggs mixed in the dish too. However, the flavour of this was slightly overshadowed by the sweet sauce.
I liked how there was some wok hei in this plate of carrot cake, and the smokiness helped to enhance the flavour and aroma. The amount and quality of dark sweet sauce was pretty robust too.
It leaned slightly towards the sweeter side, but it wasn’t too overwhelming.
I also appreciated that there was a good amount of spring onions sprinkled on top of the carrot cake. This gave a touch of freshness which helped to cut through the rich flavour characteristic of most black carrot cake.
With all the ingredients in a mouthful, it was actually pretty well-balanced. I liked the contrasting textures from the fluffy and soft interior to the crispy portions on the outside of the radish cake and egg mixture.
I also got the White Carrot Cake (S$2), which carried some residue from when they fried the black carrot cake earlier on.
Without the black sauce, I could see the huge chunks of eggs more clearly studded throughout my carrot cake.
Similarly, the white version had huge chunks of radish cake. Since white carrot cake is cooked without the sweet black sauce, I could taste the radish cake better in this one. It was mild in flavour, but the soft and fluffy texture really stood out.
This was lighter on the palate than the black version (though just as fragrant and eggy), so I didn’t feel jelak after eating the entire plate.
While this may not be the best carrot cake I’ve had, Heng Leong Carrot Cake is definitely above average and will satisfy any carrot cake cravings. Given the price point and the huge portions, there isn’t anything to complain about.
In addition, they make their own radish cakes from scratch, which is no easy feat. While I probably wouldn’t travel all the way here for it, if I’m in the area I will definitely drop by Heng Leong Carrot Cake.
Expected Damage: S$2 per pax
