Toa Payoh West’s pasar malam has Milo tea, double-patty ramly & MSW durian till 6 Nov

It’s been a while since Toa Payoh has welcomed a pasar malam to the area, so it was a pleasant surprise to see tentages at Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre. My faded memory places the previous one near Toa Payoh Central’s Courts some time in June.

Running from 24 Oct to 6 Nov, Toa Payoh West Market Trade Fair somewhat encircles the hawker centre. It’s much faster to get there from Braddell than Toa Payoh Station, so take note if you don’t happen to stay in the area.

You can find some non-F&B vendors at the pasar malam selling clothes and even a landscaping/plant nursery that’s set up shop.

If you’d like to flex your arcade muscles, there’s a section with claw machines filled with stuffed toys for the taking — provided you win, of course.

The food stalls are situated just past the claw machines. Despite the hot weather, I could not resist perusing the first stall’s chicken chop selection, which turned out to be quite modest.

Against my better judgment, an order of XL Crispy Chicken Chop (S$6.50) was made. The packaging was soaked with oil through after a minute or two but it was a decent cutlet — crispy and fatty in all the right places.

Sadly, the milk tea stand doesn’t sell them in 1-litre cups, so my drink of choice, Thai Milk Tea, was relegated to a mere 700ml (S$4). I noticed that the third tub was labelled ‘Milo Tea’ instead of the usual pink bandung. However, lacking the adventurous spirit to tolerate a full cup of a never-before-seen flavour, I decided against it.

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Another thing that caught my eye at Toa Payoh West Market Trade Fair was Muah Chee (S$3). The auntie had been giving the glutinous mass a good pounding as I was pacing around and the combination of smell and steam finally got to me.

Chewy and topped with delightfully sweet peanut powder, there’s a reason why pasar malams don’t miss out on selling these. You can find Goreng Cempedak (S$1 for 1pc) and Goreng Pisang/Potato/Yam (S$3 for 4pcs) at the same stall.

Similarly, Ramly Burger (S$4.50 for 1pc, S$12.50 for 3pcs) is the foremost of pasar malam grub. I didn’t notice there was a double patty option (S$7 for 1pc, S$20 for 3pcs) until my money had changed hands. Oh well.

Other street foods include Takoyaki (S$4.50 for 6pcs), Oyster Cake (S$3.50), Tutu Kueh (S$3.50 for 5pcs) and Crispy Vadai (S$1.30 for 1pc, S$6 for 5pcs) with prawns, vegetables or ikan bilis.

The Toa Payoh West Market Trade Fair sells fruits as well, though your eyes might be drawn to the Mao Shan Wang durians instead.

No need to fret over finding a spot to enjoy your food; they’ve got a seating area just for visitors to comfortably enjoy their meal.

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