The family business has been making popiah skins the traditional way – from scratch, by hand – since 1938. The halal-certified shop was mainly known for popiah skins before going with the full shebang – the result is a warm, chewy bite with ingredients such as egg, prawn, and sweet and savoury sauces ($2.50). It also offers kueh pie tie, sweet black sauce, and other ingredients to DIY your own popiah. It’s also one of the few places where you can watch the chefs twirl the dough to create these delicate but resilient layers.
There’s something so satisfying about sinking your teeth into popiah (Teochew for ‘thin pancake’). The spring roll-like snack is a soft, thin paper-like crepe made from wheat flour wrapped tightly with all the trimmings like cooked turnip, jicama (known locally as bengkuang), bean sprouts, and lettuce leaves, topped with sweet bean sauce. Sometimes it comes with peanuts, shredded omelette, and prawns too. A good popiah skin should never be soggy or crispy (a deep-fried version is the spring roll).
Although the comfort food is easily found islandwide and loved by locals, it’s not exactly Singaporean. The popiah's origin dates back to the 17th century, with roots in the Fujian province of China. Legend has it that it actually started in the Ming Dynasty when an imperial officer was too busy writing his official documents to have a proper meal. And so his wife put together some ingredients and wrapped it all up with a paper-thin wheat skin for him.
Thanks to the Chinese diaspora, the popiah was introduced throughout Asia. It has even spawned different variants of the roll, including the Nonya popiah in Malaysia and Singapore. Whether you’re looking for the perfect mid-day grub or DIY popiah set for some family fun, we’ve rounded up the best places to get your popiah fix – both traditional and contemporary.
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