If memories does not fail me, Xi De Li at Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre has been there for as long as I could remember because I used to live in the neighborhood during my younger days.
Some of my family's favorite things to buy here are the ham chim peng, yew char kueh, beh hei ji, and chin toi.
Just a show of hands, does anybody still calls them the way I do?
Apart from the ham chim peng (salted fried bun) and yew char kueh (youtiao), do you know what the other two are?
Well, beh hei ji refers to the butterfly bun while chin toi is sesame ball.
To be honest, these fritters do not appeal to me as a child. It's only when I grew older that I started to appreciate them.
However, one thing that I really like, but is not commonly available elsewhere except here at Xi De Li, is their glutinous rice bun. It's rather similar to the ham chim peng but with the addition of glutinous rice in the middle.
The glutinous rice bun is something that I only knew about in recent years. I have not heard about it prior.
According to Xi De Li's website, it is called the glutinous rice bun but a search does not turn up much results. On the other hand, you will have better luck with the search terms "ham chim peng with glutinous rice" and "kap chung" (夹粽).
I guess what makes it appealing to me is the savoriness from the bun and the sweetness from the glutinous rice. This is best served hot with a cup of kopi-o.
This glutinous rice bun sells like hot cakes so you have to come really early before it gets sold out for the day. I believe it is also due to Xi De Li not making as much glutinous rice bun as the other fritters like the ham chim peng and yew char kueh.
XI DE LI 西得利
Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-39
Singapore 120448
Singapore 120448
Business Hours
Mon - Sun: 8am - 5.30pm
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Nnuuem7igxKYnLBe7