Yam Bun It seems that the trip made to Xin Xin You Tiao 欣欣油条at Hainanese Village Food Centre has got us fairly intrigued in stalls serving up local fried snacks such as those serving up Chinese-style fried dough fritters and salted red bean buns — was going around Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre (i.e. 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh) and found ourselves skinming through the offerings of 知者来, which is a stall serving the said items at that above-mentioned food centre. For those whom have not heard of them before, 知者来 is a stall that has operated for quite a long while in the area — the stall is located in the vicinity of the well-known Teochew Handmade Pau that had since expanded their operations, though had first started out at Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre. The name 知者来 translates to English as “those who know, will come”; the signboard is particularly interesting considering how they have mentioned ”福建” (Fujian) and “莆田” (Putian) at the sides of the signage — we didn’t really asked them on why that was mentioned, though some sources online mentioned their recipe for their fried dough fritters and other offerings do come from Putian. Much like most other establishments serving up Chinese-style fried dough fritters and variations of salted red bean buns, the offerings at 知者来 are fairly limited — ranges from butterfly buns, to salted bun and You Tiao; that being said, they do offer some interesting flavours for their variety of buns such as a Banana Bun, Yam Bun, and a Glutinous Rice Bun that is said to become a fairly rare find in this day and age.
We made a spontaneous visit to 知者来 considering how we were just passing through the food centre on the way to another destination for lunch; we took a peek into their display case only to find out that they were actually serving some rather interesting flavours of Chinese-style fried buns that is typically a favourite breakfast item for the older generation. Given how we are pretty much into items that comprises of some element of yam, we found ourselves getting the Yam Bun almost on impulse. The Yam Bun at 知者来 comes with black sesame speckled all over the top of the fried bun — the lady behind the counter was actually pretty nice and took initiative on her own to pick the warmest one out of the three left so that we can enjoy it at its best. Taking a bite into the Yam Bun, we liked how the fried bun here wasn’t particularly greasy; the warm temperature of the bun probably helped since it also meant that the oil has yet to be fully absorbed and trapped by the bun. We really liked how the bun here comes with a good density; it didn’t feel too light and airy, and does require a little bit of bite to chew apart considering how there is a tension that holds the entire bun together. The speckles of black sesame also provides a roasty and nutty note as one bites on them. While the Green Tea Bun which we had at Xin Xin You Tiao had a half plain bun and half filling-filled bun segmentation within, the Yam Bun here does features a compartment for the filling that take up the entire interior of the bun; there is a decent portion of Yam filling that comes within as well. We had expected the yam filling to be a little earthier and thicker, though the one here feels more mousse-like being a little airier and softer and than the usual Orh Nee (i.e. yam paste) would be, and was a little bit on the sweeter side. That all being said, the Yam Bun is definitely quite a solid eat; a non-greasy fried bun with a good consistency in terms of texture that is worth the calories and the price tag of $1.10 that it demands for!