Yishun stall called Durian Crispy Pancake run by hawker, 75, who sells it when he's in the mood
Yishun is famous for many things. But perhaps not many of you are aware it’s also home to one of the quirkiest min jiang kueh hawker uncles 8days.sg has come across.
When our intern dropped by Durian Crispy Pancake, a stall tucked away in the corner of a quiet kopitiam in Yishun Central, hawker Kelvin Loh, 75, was pleasant and quite friendly.
He willingly chats with her and agrees to pose for some impromptu photos snapped with her phone.
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Despite being the namesake of his stall, Loh’s lone durian pancake on a meandering menu of over 40 flavour combinations is not available all the time.
It was sold during our intern’s first visit, but not for the next two occasions when said intern tried to drop by again with an 8days.sg photographer for better pics. He told her over the phone: “I have to go to Geylang to buy durian purée, but I woke up late [so I didn’t have time to go]”. He continues: “I’m old and tired and won’t be doing this for much longer”. And then he promptly hung up on her.
Well, there are at least 39 other flavours. If you plan to pop by, we recommend going down later in the afternoon, as we’ve been met with a shuttered stall a couple of times despite the opening hours being listed as starting from noon. Uncle says he “sometimes opens at 12.30pm”, due to medical appointments and such.
Looking for successor
Unlike the thick, fluffy min jiang kueh Singaporeans are familiar with, Loh serves up thin, crispy pancakes that bear some resemblance to the Malaysian variety known as apam balik.
Earlier, when he was in a more jovial mood, he shared that he’d been selling crispy pancakes for 30 years. He’s currently looking for a successor to take over the stall. “It’s difficult to find someone to train, as the person needs to be really interested to persist in this [hawker] business”. He has three children, but none of them are likely to take over his stall, he says. “One of my daughters lives in the US, she got married there,” he shares.
Used to work in America
He also said he used to work in a seafood restaurant in California. After returning to Singapore, he opened a hawker stall to sell pancakes. He has been at the current Yishun stall for about 15 years and prior to that, had operated a stall at Lau Pa Sat. He lamented: “Maybe business would be better if my stall is advertised online, but I’m not sure if people can find it [because of its quiet corner location]”.
We’re confused by uncle’s mixed signals: Does he want publicity, or does he not? He later told us he “won’t pay money” for our coverage even after we repeatedly assured him that we would not charge for this feature. He then added that someone else (a blogger, perhaps?) had come by earlier and asked if he wanted to be featured in return for a fee.
How to order
The stall has an interesting ordering system. There’s a sign with instructions: “Refer to codes on the menu and write down your orders on one piece of pancake paper bag (flavour + quantity). Note: Write bigger in horizontal format for uncle to see!”. Do as instructed, then drop your paper into the order box.
You can also order verbally and the hawker will write down the ‘codes’ for you.
The menu
Over 40 combinations of fillings are available, with prices ranging from $1.50 to $4. This includes the usual suspects like peanut and coconut pancakes. And of course, the eponymous durian crispy pancake (be warned it’s only available if the hawker remembers or manages to buy durian purée from Geylang). More unusual options include marshmallows with chocolate, perhaps influenced by Loh’s stint in the States where he was exposed to the American treat of S’mores.
There are also savoury fillings such as chicken floss, egg and hot dog. These are the ones our intern and a colleague (who visited separately) sampled.
Durian, $4
Although the amount of durian purée looked thin and patchy within the pancake, it tasted decent. The durian flesh was sweet and creamy, if mild, and paired quite well with the crispy pancake.
Caveat: Its subtle flavour profile is not for those who prefer their durians bitter and punchy. Mr Loh’s pancakes do not contain D24 or Mao Shan Wang durians. As he puts it: “So expensive, how to buy?”. He adds that while he tries his best to sell his signature pancake daily, it isn’t available on days when he can’t get hold of affordable durians.
Marshmallow & Chocolate, $2
Though this sounded good on paper, our colleague reported that the chocolate was “the cheap ‘rice’ type and didn’t taste chocolatey”. But he said the melted marshmallow was quite nice and gooey.
Peanut, $1.50
Fragrant, not too sweet crushed peanuts star in this classic pancake. Probably the best offering here, though it could do with a larger scoop of nuts.
Chicken Floss & Egg, $3
The generously portioned chicken floss was moreish and went quite well with the thin pancake and egg.
Cheese, Hot Dog & Egg, $3.50
This hearty number tastes like a humble breakfast pancake with an egg, shredded cheese and no-frills sliced hot dog tucked within.
Durian Crispy Pancake is at 925 Yishun Central 1, S760925. Open daily 12pm - 8pm.
Photos: Pyron Tan
Additional reporting by Florence Fong & Gwyn Lim
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