This is Bendemeer estate. It is looking quite spiffy after some painting and upgrading. We usually park in the public carpark in front and walk through the common corridors of this apartment block (29) to the Bendemeer Market and Food Centre.
The main reason is Yong Xiang Carrot Cake, at #01-35. On weekends they sell other stuff like Teochew dumplings but I am only interested in their fried carrot cake. This stall has been around forever, I first ate here about 15 years ago. The same duo runs it, I am not sure if they are brother and sister or husband and wife. The lady does the frying and the man in the blue striped t-shirt takes order and collects payment. In the older days he delivered orders to customers' tables but now it is self-service only. It was difficult to get an unobstructed image because there is always a crowd of people waiting for their food.
Simple menu. I wouldn't bother with adding prawns. In my opinion, some hawker dishes like fried kway teow and fried carrot cake are not improved from adding fancy ingredients because their main flavours come from aromatics like garlic and more importantly, the smokiness imparted by the intense heat of wok frying (wok hei); the prawns would even add unnecessary moisture which interferes in the searing process that makes the cake surfaces a bit charred and extra tasty.
Practice makes perfect. The carrot cake pieces are not mushed up untidily, many pieces remain whole, the way husband likes it, and are delicious eaten on their own, yet there are also enough of the smaller flavour-packed pieces that I prefer. All tossed up with plenty of preserved radish (i.e. the "carrot"), garlic and scrambled egg pieces in a hot pan together with sweet dark sauce and chilli paste. The end result is not too sweet, very savoury, aromatic and mildly spicy. A great breakfast especially for weekend brunches, I love to accompany it with a mug of hot, milky tea.
This neighbourhood is not terribly affluent, made up of mostly elderly folks and households living in one-bedroom HDB flats. Prices remain quite reasonable, especially at this dessert stall, where most items come in at the $1.50 mark.
Not too bad eh?
