Best Chee Cheong Fun And Yam Cake In Singapore – Jia Ji Mei Shi Smith St Market Chinatown
I have found the best chee cheong fun and yam cake in Singapore and it’s sold at Jia Ji Mei Shi at the newly renovated Smith Street Market in Chinatown. Truth be told it was not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of eating it as an ex-colleague introduced it to me more than 4 years ago but it is incredible that they are still around as the saying goes the best will always rise to the top and that is what Jia Ji Mei Shi has done with their authentic chee cheong fun and yam cake that are both must tries for any Singaporean and visitor to our shores.
What is chee cheong fun? It is simply a steamed rice noodle roll that is very soft and silky in texture and often mixed with a sweet sauce (and chili) and sesame seeds. According to my sources, this dish originated from China and Hong Kong where the Cantonese often have it for dim sum. The version which has filling in it ranging from char siew to prawns is often known as cheong fun. Another interesting anecdote is that chee cheong fun when translated literally from Chinese, means pig’s intestine noodles which is probably named thus since they look like distant cousins to a pig’s intestines (but of course tasting much better for those from Western shores).
And then we have yam cake. What is it? Apparently it is most often seen, sold and eaten in Singapore and Malaysia. Misleadingly, yam cake is not made from yam, but taro. If you wish to know how to cook it, this is how you do it. You have it made together with rice flour, salt, water, small chopping of carrots and then once steamed, dried pieces of prawn (hei bi), spring onion, shallots, sesame seeds are sprinkled over it. Sometimes you have sweet sauce layered over yam cake (as is the case with Jia Ji Mei Shi’s version), other times people just eat it as it is with chopped red chili.
So what is so good about Jia Ji Mei Shi’s chee cheong fun and yam cake that makes it the best in Singapore? First, you can mix both together or have them separately. I usually go for the total package and want it all, so my friendly advice is to order their mix of chee cheong fun and yam cake on a platter. The friendly lady staff at Jia Ji will then heap generous doses of sesame oil, sesame seeds and the mandatory sweet black sauce over it. The final result might be a huge mess of black blocks and springly rolls buried deep in an oily mess but once you put them in your mouth the sensation and taste are both heavenly.
I don’t normally go for yam cake (or taro since it’s not really made from yam) due to diet. However, Jia Ji Mei Shi’s yam cake is something I cannot avoid and there is just something special about it. It is all home made and fresh from the steam oven every morning. Needless to say it would be best to have it when the stall has opened (7.30am) but they also make extras throughout the day. The texture is extremely soft yet firm, and is not overly sweet, which thus enhances the mixture when the sweet back sauce is added.
I love chee cheong fun and used to have it very often during my tender growing years before I started developing my big fat belly due to eating too much good food (what else can a Singaporean do?) and lack of exercise. But it is still something that I recommend anyone to try when they are in Singapore. Now that I have rediscovered Jia Ji Mei Shi (which incidentally had temporarily relocated to Chinatown Street Market during Smith Street Market’s renovation before moving back) and their specialty, I find it very hard to ignore its calling. The best chee cheong fun in Singapore hands down and I will credit it not only for its texture, but also the dosages of sesame oil, sweet black sauce, chili and sesame seeds that are added. Simply lip smacking delicious! I seldom get the same high that I get from eating the best ramen in Singapore, but this chee cheong fun definitely gives me the same joy that I experienced as a child.
So how much does the most delicious chee cheong fun and yam cake in Singapore set you back by? You can have them both at only $2, and trust me, once you are done, you might have to skip one or two meals because they are simply filling. The aftertaste lingers on and makes you want to go back for more. There’s nothing quite as cheap and good as Jia Ji Mei Shi’s yam cake and chee cheong fun and if you are up for it, why not soak in the authentic local hawker centre that is Smith Street Market that is a must visit for any tourist and even our locals frequent it. Try out the other local hawker fare available in the market which I will try to introduce more in future columns.
Jia Ji Mei Shi opens at 7.30am in the morning and closes in the late afternoon or till they are sold out for the day. They have other great local food such as the delicious rice dumplings (bak zang), economy bee hoon or mee noodles, and fish porridge with raw fish (yee sang) if you order the latter too. Staff are friendly and be prepared for long queues, especially during peak hours such as breakfast and lunch.
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