The Dead Cockroach: Economic Food - Wah Kueh @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

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I was having porridge in front of a random stall at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre when out of the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of the word "wah kueh" among the list of food items they sell.

I doubt the younger generation would know what "wah kueh" really is because it is a fast disappearing snack rarely found nowadays.

This rice pudding of Hokkien origins is made by steaming the rice mixture in bowls. The word "bowl" in Hokkien is pronounced as "wah" hence the name, wah kueh, which roughly translates as bowl cake.

During my younger days, I have been hearing Mum reminiscing about this elderly gentleman who peddles his wah kueh from a basket at Hoy Fatt Road where my family used to stay during the 1970s.

I was only born after we moved away to another estate. Needless to say, I never quite got the chance to eat this.

My first opportunity came when I was about 18 years old. It is actually an accidental find. I was walking through Bukit Merah Central Food Centre to get to CMPB for my pre-enlistment body screening when I saw one of the stalls selling it.

I think that wah kueh was served with chee cheong fun sauce ladled over it. I could be wrong though, after all it was more than two decades ago.

My second wah kueh came from Chinatown Complex a few years ago. It was located at the stall currently occupied by the famous Maria Virgin Chicken.

This wah kueh is the Taiwanese version served with some special bean sauce with mushrooms and minced meat.

As for my third wah kueh, it came from this nondescript stall called Economic Food at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre.

Again, the wah kueh here is a totally different style served with dark sauce, minced garlic and sambal chili. I cannot remember if vinegar was involved but there's a tang to it which reminded me of lor mee sauce.

I only had wah kueh for three times in my life and all three are so different from each other that I do not know which is the authentic way of having this traditional street food?

I guess I felt so strongly to the wah kueh is due to Mum's stories about our family before I was born and I wanted to be connected to that part of our family history.

Do you know where else in Singapore can I find wah kueh?