Jian Bo Shui Kueh

I followed the Unilocal recommendations to this little hole-​in-​the-​wall. I’m a white boy from Sydney so the food court felt quite exotic to me. I ate eight of these little fellas, with some of the chilli paste. Delicious and worth the very little money I paid for them, but they are an appetiser, not a full meal. The lady who served me was delightful and I ordered a lemon and plum juice from next door. Definitely a million times better than anything on the tourist strip outside.

There is, in my mind, no better Chwee Kueh than Jian Bo’s.
Chwee Kueh is a humble dish that given time and evolving tastes may fade from the Singaporean culinary scene and from the face of the earth. Panic set in yet? If you are the foodie that you say you are, your pulse should be racing and the vein in your temple pulsing right about now. Well, ok, I may be overstating the case somewhat, and if the lines in front of Jian Bo are any indication, then Chwee Kueh is safe for now.
Chwee Kueh is cakes made from rice flour and then steamed to creamy semi-​firmness. This simple cake is traditionally accompanied with 2 condiments, a salty, oily condiment called chye poh which actually refers on one of the main ingredients of this condiment, preserved diced Chinese radish. Although technically a condiment, the chye poh is in my humble opinion, the star. Chwee Kueh lives or dies on the quality of the chye poh. Jian Bo’s version is outstanding! The diced preserved radish is stir-​fried with sesame seeds and I suspect in sesame oil. This elevates the two dimensional saltiness of the pickled vegetable, giving it all kinds of interesting new flavor profiles with nutty, toasty and buttery notes. Absolute genius. I’m not the only one who thinks so, customers are always requesting extra servings of the condiment. The fine folks at Jian Bo are more than happy to accommodate cravings for their famous condiment. At $ 3 for a small container, you’d be hurting from the gouging if this wasn’t just simply phenomenal! I usually just pony up because the chye poh will also elevate another quotidian standard, chye poh neng or chye poh omelette. The «chili» or «hot sauce» is the spice that wakes up the palate. This is also good, but a certainly less famous member of the entourage, just like Johnny Drama, full of wannabe angst, with anger management issues. It’s dried chilies stir-​fried with dried shrimps… what’s not to like?
The ratios of condiments with each cake are hotly debated and a matter of personal preference and orientation. At the end of the day, you find what you like, make your peace and keep you mouth shut about whether you think this is better than your cousin’s mix. It’s not as contentious as Jameson versus Bushmills, but it’s close.
At the end of the day, it’s all about visiting a Singapore landmark, Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, ordering up 10 of these lovely creamy rice cakes for less than $ 4 (at the time of this writing), and enjoying each cake doused with a heaping helping of the aforementioned «condiments» and letting the lied of legacy flavors play soothingly in your head. Maybe an intermission of a sip of local milk tea and then letting that music continue to play to an audience of one.
Of course, there’s also Hai San and Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow in the house, so remember to leave enough room for a whole orchestra of flavors to flood your head.

Can’t believe there are only two reviews for this wonderful little spot of Heaven!
When I moved to Singapore from America when I was a kid, my parents used to bring me to Tiong Bahru Market every weekend to wean me off cereal and toast. We would troop down to the then single storey market and brave the long lines for this little piece of goodness.
18 years on, I no longer live in Singapore. But every time I touch down on the sunny island, this would be the first place I would go. Jian Bo Chwee Kueh, you have my heart. Now, and forever.

At 4 for $ 1.40, it is slightly more expensive than the Bedok Chwee Kueh (4for$ 1) but we do not mind because the chye poh here is EXCELLENT. You can notice that extra nutty aroma and crunchy texture because it is stir fried with sesame seeds. As the owners continue to mill their own rice flour for the chwee Kuey, each petite rice cake is soft to each bite.
The best chwee kueh tasted so far

Tiong Bahru market is well known for it’s wonderful hawker food. It’s best to avoid this place on Sunday mornings, people from all over the country flock here to have Sunday lunch and as a result, queues are long and seating is sparse.
Chwee Kway is a popular local breakfast staple and this particular stall serves the best version of it. This stall has been around for a long time, I remember visting this stall at the old tiong bahru market when I was a child. It was already very popular since then! The dish is basically rice cakes served with Chai po (turnip meticulously chopped, prepared and fried), and eaten with chilli on the side. It’s served on a brown paper (very old school).
There’s more than one stall in Tiong bahru market that serves this dish so be sure to check the unit number! When enjoying your food in Tiong Bahru market area, you’d be well advised to park legally, many people get tickets in this area.

The best there is, all other chwee kueh (little steamed cup-​shaped rice cakes) hope to be it.
Chwee kueh is cheap, comfort food for many. Served with finely diced cai pok (preserved radish) and satisfyingly spicy chilli, this was one of the only foods my grandmother would indulge in without any inhibition, and she was very picky about her food especially when cancer robbed her of her appetite.
But when I bought her Jian bo chwee kueh and ate with her in front of the TV, it was one of our happier moments when I realised I finally found something delicious enough to make her feel like eating again.
Jian bo chwee kueh stands out, not only because of its fast factory-​precision serving line that Ford would be proud of, so long lines move quickly and everyone has a chance at getting their guilty pleasure for only $ 1.20 (4 pieces). The rice cakes are soft and moist, and the cai pok is fragrant, fried with sesame and dried shrimps. It has all the right bits for perfection.
I never eat chwee kueh from any other stalls since I found Jian bo, because that would be like cheating, with an uglier person.