Fu Zhou Oyster Cake 原味福州蠔餅 (85 Fengshan Centre)

Seafood Special Oyster Cake (S$4)
Scallop + crab + oyster + prawn + pork
Made upon order, so super pipping hot.

Address 🛖 : Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, # 01-39 Feng Shan Market & Food Centre, Singapore 🇸🇬 460 085

[ Food Week: Hawker Food ] When we think of hawker food, the usual suspects likely come to mind: Laksa, hokkien mee, mee siam, briyani etc. Rarely — for me at least — does my mind wander towards snacks sold in hawker centres like rojak, savoury kueh, tutu kueh, apam balik, and other snacks that make up my childhood.

And usually when I get one as a treat from my folks, I rarely bother to document the moment, feeling like a between-meal indulgence doesn’t warrant enough significance to be immortalised in my food dairy.

This Phase 2, while we are seeing a profusion of heartfelt adoration for hawker stalls, many of their neighbours who sell desserts or small bites tend to slip under the radar. After all, when we think of hawkers, most of us associate them with our major meals of the day — everything else is filtered by the feathered edges of the hours that revolve around proper breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I struggled to find a snack that would induce a similar effusion of ardour. Hopefully this uncommon treat — that teeters on the precipice of extinction — can remind us to support hawkers who devote their time and craft to perfecting small bites that tide us until our next meal.

This, my friends, is the Fuzhou oyster cake (aka the aptly named UFO oyster cake). Brought to Singapore by Fuzhou immigrants, this is a rather laborious treat to make, consisting of a thin, fried shell of batter made from rice (sometimes blended with soya beans) encapsulating a potpourri of minced meat and cilantro, pierced with the occasional oyster (or whichever other topping you prefer), and finally dusted with fried peanuts and/or anchovies.

It smells absolutely amazing — the rich brine of the meat-oyster combination is tempered by gentle whiffs of sweet rice batter, melded into a coherent whole by the bite of cilantro and weight of oil.

And yes, it’s as — and likely even more — sinful than it looks.

There are several big names that still serve excellent Fuzhou Oyster Cakes. Each has its own signature, but they all share the same denominator: Crisp and fragrant shell of burnished bronze, a generous dollop of filling, accompanied by fresh and succulent seafood/oyster.

Pretty difficult to find these around hawker centres but managed to find one stall that is serving it at Fengshan Centre (previously being a stall located at Bugis Street according to newspaper clippings displayed at the stall), which had recently re-opened following renovation works for the past few months.

Serving up a few variants of Oyster Cake, the stall also serves modern variants which also sees flavours like Salmon + Pork versions on the menu. The ones here are freshly-fried on the spot; greasy it may be but these just aren’t what they are if they are not oily — the original variant comes well-stuffed with oyster, prawn and meat. Liked how the batter is totally crisp on the outside, but maintained fluffiness within — the meat being all savoury and gives the oyster cake a burst of flavour; the prawn being plump and was pretty fresh, lending the oyster cake it’s natural sweetness while the oyster within was briny and slurpy. Liked how the veggies gave it a slight zing that cuts through the saltishness going through the entire cake, providing a refreshing bite in between bites.

Definitely a great addition to the ‘hood; an item that would work as a sharing plate with the various other dishes and stalls that Blk 85 Fengshan Centre is known for!

This original comes with a combination of oyster, prawn and pork, while they also offer a range of others like purely pork ($3), vegetables ($1.50), oyster and pork ($3.50), seafood ($4), etc. at different prices. Though a little too peppery and the meat chunks were not as juicy as I would have liked, it was still a pretty good version (my fav is Teochew Meat Puff). Aunty serving was super friendly!

📍Fu Zhou Oyster Cake 原味福州蠔餅
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