Temporary night markets were commonly held all over Singapore before COVID-19 and now; they are not allowed to operate due to the risk of congregation and challenges in imposing safe distancing.
One of the food stalls I super missed during this period of time was Teochew Meat Puff (潮州香饼) and the good news is; they have finally secured a permanent spot at Admiralty (Woodlands) which isn't that far from Yishun!
Opened for operation from 17 September, I deliberately went there the next day as I happened to be on leave and mooncake baking ended earlier than expected. Timing was at the tail end of the busy lunch period and the queue of 3 persons (red arrow) would definitely be manageable.
Shortly after, I realized my mistake. The queue was a bloody L-shaped and it didn't dawn on me that some of those in the queue were seated down! Oh well, I already expected a wait of at least an hour and came prepared with a fully charged power bank to play my Homescapes.
My spot about half an hour later - it was earlier shared on the Facebook page of Teochew Meat Puff that there wasn't any need to queue. However, the first day of operations was chaotic according to the boss and the traditional queue system was imposed.
90 minutes later; finally about to reach my turn!
Time to look at the menu again to determine how many you would want to buy. My take is that after queuing for so long, I wouldn't be happy to purchase just two or three. Ten would be the bare minimum! I had assumed that the pricing for the puff would be higher than pasar malam but it wasn't!
Order taking; do keep in mind that you can't add on any more once you confirm the order with the elderly uncle. Okay, technically you can add on although you would have to rejoin the end of the queue which I personally don't think you should.
Keep this order sheet with you and protect it with your life!
The moment your order is ready, the familiar boss would call the last two digits on the order sheet. Ensure your order is correct and pay for the puffs once everything is loaded into the plastic bag. Don't tie up the plastic bag as the puffs would still be hot!
From start of queuing to receiving the puffs; it was a ridiculously long three hours to get my hands on the delicious teochew puffs! It actually didn't feel that long as my sister and niece were with me and I can still chit chat and even have my lunch while they stood in for me. We even had a good chat with the old couple in front of us!
Queue was even longer when I left; god knows how many hours the last person would have to wait. Turned out they didn't have to wait too long; just that the puffs were sold out about an hour after I got my teochew meat puffs.
How you know whether the puffs are still selling or not? Look at the signboard; once the lights are switched off; it means the puffs are sold out for the day! Guess it only means that it's best to go and queue before they start their business for the day!
Back home and I was all ready to indulge! It's been more than half a year since I last had
teochew meat puffs and I am so going to enjoy it slowly.
Trying their octopus-pork; still so yummy! Crispy on the outside with the meat filling continuing to give so much satisfaction! It's a must to pair it with some Kimball Thai chilli sauce! Not bad, quite a bit of octopus meat.
Scallop-pork; you don't get a layer of rich scallop flavour and I think I would be better off with the slightly cheaper prawn-pork. Just wondering, how come there isn't a pure pork puff? Shall ask the boss next time I am there!
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Address
60 Woodlands Industrial Park E4, Singapore 757705
Map
As above.
Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/TeochewMeatPuff
Menu
Pricing
Prawn Pork Meat Puff - S$3.50 Octopus Pork Meat Puff - S$3.50
Scallop Pork Meat Puff - S$4.00
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