THE small kueh tutu or steamed rice flour cake at Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake stall in Havelock Road is such a big winner that the owner has opened four more outlets to sell it.

They are at the Food Republic in Wisma Atria and VivoCity, Jurong West Street 91 at Block 964 and Clementi Avenue 3 at Block 449.

After a bite, it is easy to see why.

The kueh tutu kosong (steamed rice flour cake with no filling, 50 cents) has such a soft skin.

Normally, the kueh is filled with either grated coconut filling (50 cents) or coarsely chopped toasted groundnuts (50 cents) but even sans filling, the skin is fragrant with the natural flavour of the rice, which has been lightly sweetened with just a little sugar. It is a hit with regulars.

STEAMY AFFAIR: Stall owner Tan Cheong Chuan serves the delicate rice kueh which is a hit.

The snowy-white skin does not stick to the teeth and it does not crumble at the first bite.

Owner Tan Cheong Chuan, 64, says his regulars even buy boxes of his kueh for their friends and relatives living overseas.

Everything is made from scratch at the stall, which has been in the Havelock area since 1971.

You can hear the hum of the machinery milling the rice just behind a fine screen at the stall in the hawker centre.

The grated coconut for the filling is painstakingly fried over low heat for three hours till the aroma of coconut fills the air.

Gula melaka or palm sugar is then added, to make the coconut filling juicy.

The level of sweetness is just right and that clinches it for me.

Also a pleasure to savour is the peanut filling, as the freshly toasted nuts are fragrant and not too finely ground.

The kueh is placed on big squares of pandan leaf before they are steamed, resulting in a pleasing aroma.

These rice flour cakes are made from a family recipe that is more than 80 years old.

Mr Tan started helping his father sell the kueh from a pushcart in Chinatown in 1957, when he was only 13.

He recalled that in those days, the kueh was steamed over a wood fire in a device that made a 'tutu' sound when steam blew through it, and that was how the cake got its name.

Now, a silent electric steamer has taken its place, but the yummy tutu kueh is still just as good.

Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake
Block 22B Havelock Road, 01-25, Havelock Cooked Food Centre

Open: 10am to 2.30pm from Mondays to Fridays
Rating: ***

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Mar 16, 2008.

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