Popiah ($1.50 each)!
Tuesday popiah $1.50 each. Traditional Peranakan-Chinese spring rolls.
A popiah snack with BB: $1.50 each. The fresh, soft spring roll. 😋
Popiah (薄饼) is the un-fried spring roll, and that’s exactly what makes it lovely: a thin, soft wheat-flour skin (almost like a crepe) wrapped around a generous filling, then rolled tight and sliced. No deep-frying, just fresh and soft.
The heart of it is the stewed turnip (jicama / bangkuang), simmered down until soft and sweet, which gives popiah its signature juicy, savoury-sweet base. Onto that go the trimmings: crunchy beansprouts, slivers of egg, lettuce, a scatter of crushed peanuts and fried shallots, then the crucial double-drizzle of sweet sauce and chilli before it’s rolled up. The result is a roll with everything in one bite, soft and crunchy, sweet and savoury, fresh and a little spicy.
It’s a Straits Chinese / Peranakan classic and a brilliant snack: light, fresh and not greasy, the kind of thing you can happily eat a couple of as a pick-me-up. At $1.50 a roll, it’s honest, old-school hawker value.
Overall: 4.6 / 5. 😋👍🏼 A fresh, soft popiah with sweet stewed turnip, crunchy bits and that sweet-chilli drizzle, a lovely light snack. Would re-order.
