Potato Chicken & Egg Puff ($1.80) from Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff (东陵酥皮咖喱角).
Operating out of a corner in Hong Lim Food Centre, this stall was established in 1952 and have been featured many times in the media. Their passed down recipe across generations accompanies the painstaking effort of handmaking each puff on the spot, before fried and sold fresh to waiting customers. Being consistency listed on listicles for best puffs, I visited them for an early lunch to taste their signature puff myself.
Puff: 8/10. This thin and crisp exterior was truly a work of art, as I watched them roll together two separate doughs that gave it a layered texture. The folds highlighted their experience, intricate pleats that not just packed the filling but also added a crunch. It was not very buttery, surprising as I associated these flaky skins with the grease, thus a little bland in flavour
Filling: 7.5/10. A mixture of curry potatoes, chicken meat and a quartered egg on top made up its filling. Freshly made everyday, the result was moist and fragrant with a mild kick of curry spice. The egg was as expected, but the potatoes were a bit too strong as I preferred more balance with the meat. Because of the ratio, textures were soft which made them easy to consume
Overall: 7.8/10. An enjoyable treat allowing us to appreciate the effort taken to make each one, and reliving flavours of the olden days. At $1.80 a piece since 1st May 2021, it remains affordable though some might complain about the hike. Given the need to queue, many order in bulk to make it worthwhile, also showing a sustained demand for them after all these years.
The prices and opening hours may vary.