Limpeh – Singapore’s First Homemade Fried Yam Cake

Have you ever heard of Fried Homemade Yam Cake? If you have not, I am sure you have heard of Fried Carrot Cake. Originating from China, Fried Carrot Cake (Chai Tow Kway) is a common Teochew dish in China. In Singapore, it is also quite a popular dish for breakfast! We were pleasantly surprised to have found this stall offering a sister dish — Fried Yam Cake.

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We were drawn to this prominent signboard which says ‘Limpeh’ in Upper Serangoon. Limpeh means ‘your father’ when translated directly from Hokkien. This term has evolved in the modern day language and is taken lightly amongst many Singaporeans to express ‘yours truly’. The owner chose this name to induce a sense of humour and intrigue the younger generation to patronise the stall. Using their own traditional homemade recipes, they hope to introduce these traditional Chinese dishes to the younger generation. Most hawkers get their cakes from suppliers. However, Limpeh prides themselves on preparing their cakes fresh daily. They have their own secret recipe which was passed down from two generations ago!

My favourite dish was their version of Singapore’s first Homemade Stir Fried Yam Cake ($5). The process of making this yam cake is very tedious. Firstly, they stir fry the yam cubes together with dried shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps in scallion oil. Next, they add in flour and a special pork broth to the ingredients. Then, they leave this mixture over the heat for 15 minutes to thicken it. Lastly, they place the mixture in the steamer for two hours. Each plate is fried upon your order with lard oil, garlic, a mixture of sweet and salty chye poh (preserved radish), and a generous portion of eggs. The end result is a plate of goodness packed with the sweetness of yam, fragrance of egg and slight saltiness of chye poh.

Their Homemade Carrot Cake ($3.50) had a really nice texture. Expect firm radish cubes which are a joy to bite into. The whole process of making these cakes takes about 2.5 hours! They do not fry the cakes in big batches like some other stalls do. They stir fry these cubed cakes with garlic, chye poh, lard oil and fish sauce only when you place your order. Compared to the Fried Yam Cake, this dish tasted a little dull but had a stronger hint of chye poh.

We also tried their Fried Short Grain Rice with Fish Roe & Prawn ($5). It features ingredients such as onions, prawns, corn and fish roe. The rice was rather lumpy and stuck together. It had quite a strong peppery taste. The fish roe did not add much taste to the dish but added a crunchy texture.

If you are starving in the late night and ran out of ideas on where to go for supper, you might want to consider heading here for the Homemade Stir Fried Yam Cake. Note that the yam cake is in have limited quantity as it is made by hand daily.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.