Sengkang hasn’t had a night bazaar since I last visited in Jan 2023. Located at the bare field outside Compass One, Sengkang pasar malam has returned, now 3 times larger! I visited on the first day and it will be running till 3 Dec 2023.
I explored every nook of the pasar malam grounds and counted over 42 food and drink stalls. This time, I noticed a significantly broader variety of cuisines offered.
The first stall that caught my attention was 芋贵人. After doing some digging online, I realised that this stall is popular in the night market scene in Johor Bahru. It features handmade Taro Cookies (S$3 for 2) known for their nostalgic, old-school flavour.
A lavish layer of sesame seeds encircled the cookie, lending each bite a fragrant nuttiness. The flaky texture of the cookie itself brought to mind the reminiscent crunch of a baked char siew sou. As for the filling, the lilac-hued taro was subtly sweet and a little too dense for my liking.
I tried 光头佬 next, which translates to ‘bald guy’. The stall sold grilled squid but I was more intrigued with the 烤冷面 (S$8) (grilled cold noodle).
I watched as the chef grilled a pale-yellow sheet, cracked an egg and sprinkled a red and black powder mix. Next, a sausage was grilled and cut before he added red onions and fresh coriander. He then rolled it up, brushed on a chilli-like sauce, and sliced it like popiah.
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First impressions— it looked like a Taiwanese breakfast egg crepe. The skin was slightly chewy and eggy, and the mixture of pork sausage, coriander and red onions was delicious. My taste buds also picked up hints of cumin and black pepper together with it— I highly recommend it!
Spuds Shack Express specialises in 10 flavours of rosti such as Cajun Seaweed Rosti (S$7), Spicy Mala Rosti (S$7) and Truffle Aioli Rosti (S$8.50).
I ended up ordering the Pesto Mayo Rosti (S$8.50), which was served with a little cup of sour cream. The potato strips had a nice bite to them while the herby pesto mayo helped cut down the richness.
I spotted Sip&Dip.co previously at the Punggol pasar malam but the queue was too long and I gave up after a while. Fortunately, it’s here too!
It sells Home Made Epok-Epok (S$4 for 3 pieces), Mee Goreng Upsize (S$6.50) and different flavoured Bakwan (S$5 for 4 pieces).
I tried the Potato Cheese Bomb (S$6) which came in a set of 5. Each of them had a cheesy centre with a slightly-spicy and peppery potato filling— not bad at all!
I ended with dessert at Ernest & Serene’s Snacks Stall after having a round of savouries. The menu had Cup Corn (S$3) and Slushie (S$4 for small, S$5 for big).
I ordered the Snow Ice (S$6 for small), which came with 2 toppings and 1 syrup drizzle. There was a choice of rose and mango— I chose the latter and paired it with chopped peanuts and jelly pieces.
The synthetic mango flavour didn’t quite win me over, and the chocolate sauce pairing turned out to be a mismatch. Maybe the rose would have been a better choice.
Zhajipu serves Korean fried chicken with 14 different sauces including interesting ones like Butterfly Blue Sauce, Dragon Pink Sauce and Durian Mayo Sauce. There are also different powders available such as Sour Cream and Tomyum.
And of course, there’s the infamous ZhangJi Stinky Toufu. Indulge in the Traditional Stinky Toufu (S$7 for small), Traditional Black Stinky Toufu (S$10) and Mala Stinky Toufu (S$9). To jazz things up, you can add Kimchi (+S$1) or Century Egg (+S$2).
Gold Coin Cake reminded me of the 10 yen cheese coin pancake in Osaka. Besides Cheese (S$8), there are other flavours like Chocolate, Peanut and Biscoff (S$6 each).
Kids will be entertained with cute bumper cars, numerous claw machines and carnival games.
Indulge in retail therapy at the Sengkang pasar malam amidst a myriad of knick-knacks on display, ranging from household items and pyjamas to phone cases and more.
Entertain Ah Ma and Ah Gong by enjoying the mini stage with karaoke getai performances.
Head over to the massive Sengkang pasar malam anytime from 3 to 4 pm onwards. Hurry, though— it’s only here for a limited time!
