Housed in a little wooden shack at the junction of Jalan Queen and Jalan Sultan in Pasir Pinji is a stall selling Fried “Nian Gao” (literal translation: “Year Cake”). From what I saw, their version of the traditional glutinous rice cake resembles a medium-soft block of toffee. It is cut into pieces, then individually sandwiched between a thin slice of yam and another of sweet potato. These are clamped firmly together before being dipped into a batter and dropped into boiling hot oil. The result is a crunchy ball, about the size of a child’s fist. It looks impressive enough but wait till you take a bite. That’s when it hits mind-blowing status.
The “nian gao” as you know it, has melted into a caramel-like lava. What’s remarkable is you can eat the whole thing without too much of a mess because the thick liquid is shored up by the double tubers, and thick but very light tempura-like coating.
One last thing - I love that although this snack looks like it could be teeth-achingly sweet, it isn’t at all.