Putu Mayam, or Idiyappam in South Indian and Sri Lankan context, was essentially rice noodles pressed to a pancake form and steamed. Over at Belinda’s, her version of Puttu Mayam (S$1.60) came with two pieces of rice noodles that was already cooled, but they would also come with a pre-packed palm sugar and freshly steamed grated coconut which was packed upon order.

Ordinary as it might seem, it was unpretentious with very little room for error (unless if the grated coconut would go bad because of prolonged exposure to room temperature). And while the stall would not open on certain days, the Puttu Mayam would be available for sale by 6.00am in the morning. However, go a little later and both their Puttu Mayam and 面煎糕 (Chinese traditional pancake) would be sold out for the day.