Putu Piring: The Lord of the Pirings!
Putu Piring 3 for $1
Do you remember the old Singapore Wonderland? I remember the small rollercoaster with the head of a lion in front of it. That coaster, together with Van Kleef aquarium (ie National Theatre) 
were iconic of Singapore in the 70's (for a 6 year old boy at least). I can still remember visiting Wonderland at night. I don't know if it is just because I was a kid, but Singapore nights seem to be cooler then. The best things to eat on a cool night were steaming hot peanuts and Kueh Tutu (Putu Piring).
The Kueh Tutu almost went out of fashion in the 80s (around then) but thankfully, like the handmade Paus, Gen Xers who grew up eating the traditional foods took it upon themselves to re-introduce the old favourites to a new generation.
Putu Piring is essentially the Malay version of Kueh Tutu. According to the friendly uncle at the stall, this dessert has its origins in India. The Malay version uses gula melaka for the filling and is served with grated coconut whiles the Chinese version ie Kueh Tutu, contains grated coconut and peanut filling and is generally smaller in size.
This uncle has been running the stall for 14 years. He used to be in the building industry and was involved in 
many hotels. It was during this time that he learned the art of kueh making by observing the many Hotel Chefs that he had to work with. After several attempts and experimentation, he finally arrived at the perfect recipe for his Putu Piring.
There is a perpetual queue of people outside the stall even at 3pm in the afternoon, but the hardworking staff are always cheerful and friendly. Guys should be especially careful about ordering from the amorous, circumferentially enhanced lady who is always after the handsome son of the owner and every other guy for that matter!
Now this picture really tells it all. Who can resist the finest grade Gula Melaka (from Malacca of course) oozing out of the kueh when it is piping hot? It is a wonder to behold and certainly not something you want to wait till you get home to eat. 4.75/5
Conclusion
Can a Putu Piring get much better then this?
One Piring that leads them,
One Piring above them all,
With a Gula that beats them.
Putu PiringBanquet Food Centre
Blk 12 Haig Road
96883067
Daily 12noon to 10.30pm
closed on the 2nd Tuesday of the month
80 comments:
ooooo....I hope this doesn't add anymore to my BMI.....looks good....!!!
I can't wait to try it man! I was there last week, however no luck. I went to the wrong Banquet Food Court. There is another Banquet Food Court at Lion City Hotel. Will try my luck this week.....
Congrats on the article in the Straits Time! keep it up =)
-terence
After the Banquet took over and renovated the FC this famous Putu Piring stall also modernized. They have more staff and opens longer hours but their Putu Piring still very sedap.
his is my favourite Putu Piring in Spore, never fails to buy it when I'm in the East area.The detour is worth it.
This Putu Piring is even better than the much talk about Malacca Nonya Putu Piring selling at night along Tenggera Road. It is comparable to the Putu Piring sold at the night market at the seafront at Tanjong Kling, Malacca, which is also very good, and sold by a Malay lady.
Yeap, this stall sells really good putu piring. The flour or rather the kueh is very unique. It is very moist and loose unlike those which are very dry and hard. To top it off, there is a generous filling of gula melaka which practically oozes out of the putu piring. Thumbs up! =P
i love this stall!! the gula melaka!! ooooh. orgasmic!!! haaahhahaha
Yes, the putu piring is very good. And is value for money $1.00 you get 3 pirings. Shiok only. Even if you eat it later, you can put it in the microwave to warm it, it is is still good.
ohYUM. now youve got me craving for some putu piring : DDD
-sher.
OMG! i must go try! i love this. tried the bigger version in malacca. super shiok, and only cost RM0.50. haven't been able to find a similar one in SG.
I luved this PP. It's really superly shiokadu! Can't get enuf, still pau home.
BTW Boss! Congrats on Sunday's article! Cheers...
yes! thats my favourite putu piring stall!
Congrats on being featured in the Sunday times.
I was there on Sunday about 545pm. Q for 25 mins! They are most special ones I seen so far. generous with pandan leaves and bigger! The gula melaka and pandan smells good. However, it din give me the oooomph feeling when I tasted it. Could it be a diff std on that day? too little gula melaka lei... and the flour not that smooth texture. But it's lot more better than many, though. Value for money.
anyone has the recipe for putu piring???? Please share leh.
i remember the wonderland! the roller coaster ride was always followed by birdsnest drink and a huge ball of pink cotton candy on stick..yumz!
so excited to see you in the papers. my hubba is such a fan of yours..: ) keep going!
I finally tried it last evening.. one word to describe it.. POWERRRRRRR! :)
Where can I find good putu piring in the west area too?
I went down to the banquet at lion city and couldn't find the putu piring store at all!! so sad...
It is not actually at lion city. It is along the main road before lion city, before the food centre.
I went there yesteday, we bought 4 packets and had alot of pasar malam food as well. The Putu Piring was great! Highly recommended. :)
-N
The putu pirings are nice but not unlike the others that i've tried before. The only gripe is that they mix the gula melaka with brown sugar. So the *oomph* of pure gula melaka oozing out is lacking here. However, if you're passing by, i'd say they're worth queueing for to get your fix because putu pirings are hard to come by and the queue moves pretty quickly! :)
OMG..the pic with the Gula Melaka oozing out..it look so sinfully good..But the Q puts me off
I went down to the wrong Banquet in the Lion City outlet, can I ask what time will the putu piring be sold out???
ta pao a pack this morning and was at home within half and hour eating them. They were generous with the grated coconut which I found slightly dry.
Though the putu pirings were still warm, alas, there was no gula melaka oozing out when I had them. But I must say that the 'dough' was nice and soft.
Certainly good deal at $1 for 3.
Taukwa, you should have eaten there. The cooling down may have solidified the gula melaka. I ate there and the lava oozed out. Shiok! : )
yes, I think so too. But quite full eating at Yong Li liao, so I ta pau instead. Next time will eat there definitely. If no lava oozing out can tell pak cik to compensate immediately too. Like liu lian pao chiak.
$1 for 3 still want to Pau Chiak? Only Pau Sek.
he he, try my luck mah. BTW, i also ta pau for my friend, who ate it later than me and simply loved it.
finally! a recommendation that is worth the calories! your other recommendations have been really yucks! i know food for all is subjective but coming from a person that has the heading'never waste your calories on yucky food' some of your food places really sucks.
this is indeed one of the better putu piring in singapore (we have been having it for years)...our family is always on the look out for better ones though (but i think this stall jadi for now).
cheers,
vfm
So why don't you offer say 3 stalls which are up to your standards and our makan kakis will go see what your tastebuds are like?
Indeed I would like to see vfm's recommendations, as I'm sure his/her standards are really high. That way, we can sample some awesome grub! : )
But you really are some fan. All the other recommendations don't suit your taste still persist with the blog. You deserve a long-suffering fan award. ; )
Look forward to your recommendations!
yes, taste is subjective and maybe i agree with the ratings of ieat on 80% of the eateries.......
seems like you finally find one thing in the blog that suits your taste !:) the putu piring !
hey vfm, list down some of those you do not like, then we can all compare notes.
I will agree that taste is definitely subjective. Like Wahcow and some others, I don't agree with ieat's ratings all the time. But I certainly didn't think that all his other recommendations suck.
Please vfm, let us know some of your favourite foods. I am very keen to try some really good stuff. Afterall, I am a greedy person. :)
don't get me wrong...i'm not saying that you guys don't know your food, it's just that some of the high ratings you give certain foods were really yucks. the 3 on my 'waste time' list are :
1) carrot cake with ikan bilis - i tried that before your recommendation and it was over-rated, oily and normal (i mean no disrecpect to aunty).
2) joe's kitchen - i expected more since he's thai. i'm a REAL BIG fan of som tam and there was just something that was lacking...tom yam soup was so so and the rest of the food were not so 'thai' tasting.
3) hooked on heads - i wasted petrol going there.
i haven't really gone thru all the food stalls in your blog...there are some that i can't comment, like durian cos i'm not a fan and chicken rice from shops that end with 'kee' cos i always feel that they are over-rated and somewhere in tiny singapore, there's a stall that serves really good chicken rice, without any famous name attached.
i have been wanting to try ya kwang at geylang...havnt got the chance yet. when i do...i'll let u know (or mayb not ;0)
theres not many good food around anymore...u have to agree right? the younger generations are no longer interested to learn and take over. but those that do, change the way that its suppose to be done, cut out certain ingredients so they can make more $, etc and thus the taste is different. theres no more passion and love that goes into the food, thats why its difficult to find awesome food.
so guys, don't be offended with my comments...they are just my comments.
We certainly hope you find something you like here. : )
Agree that many good makan places have left the scene. But there are still some really good eats around. The whole gang just ate at Seng Kee today. We all love the fish maw soup. Check it out and tell us how you rate it. That uncle is really passionate about serving good food. : )
wow a long post indeed, vfm. Rest assure that I was not offended.
However, I admit that I was a little intrigued when you said "your other recommendations have been really yucks!". I thought : Wow! you have tried almost all that ieat had blogged about and only found the Putu Piring nice?
Anyway, please find time to try the others and I hope that you really do find something nice soon.
BTW, maybe I am getting old. For I really always imagine that the food I had during my much younger days were more shiok. So I agree with you.
Hope that you can join us for makan too. Can share food tips then. :)
what did you have at hooked on heads vfm? :)
And where is the chicken rice stall without any name attached to it. Would love to check it out vfm :)
vfm: You already said taste is subjective, and bloggers like ieat are only sharing what they eat and what they like/dislike with readers. It's like a food diary, so it's up to you to believe them, try the food and see/taste for yourself if you liked the recommendations. It's almost uncalled for to make such comment!
It's just too bad if you didn't like ieat's recommendations!
duhz.
hey vfm, i agree with you on the thai one...didnt make an impression on me when i was there :)
i too thought you meant "yucks" on every single thing......which would meant the tai hwa noodle that i have been queuing for ....and many other good food that i can identify with on the blog, some new and some i know of since younger days.
looks like you know some exciting places!! come join us or bring us along !
Yes duhz is right about it being like a food diary but which food review in any other form of media is any different?
When I write the review it is based on my opinion of the food on that day. So many factors are involved, sometimes food quality differs from day to day. Sometimes it is a different cook.
Some people have suggested that I go eat at the stall 3 times before I blog it. But that would mean that the blog will be updated once a week.
The best thing is for readers to go try the food and pen their opinions in the comments. This way you get opinions from people with different tastebuds eating at different times. If the place is really good, most of the comments will be positive.
vfm, you write in haste.I am sure you dont mean that the hundreds/thousands of recommendations in this blog are YUCKS.Am I right?
I like food critic like you to join us to our makan sessions.
Also why not contribute by recommending your favourite food stalls.
wah anon..even i dont dare say 80% of the food here sucks, and i am supposed to be the fussy one here.
though i dont always agree with ieat's recommendations, generally, the food is alight. and he only blogs the ones he likes. so if 80% of those are still no good to you, then it seems there really is quite little good stalls left in singapore.
how about recommending the remaining few ones that you like? i am sure u know a few gems out there which are stil undiscovered.
looking forward to that..
wow...i didn't realise my comments deemed me 'an idiot' at ice's blog.
i'm into old school food - food that should taste like how they tasted when their grandparents, parents, old relatives used to make them. i know that's not possible, but i'm very sure somewhere out there there's one. my hubby and myself are always looking...driving to ulu coffeeshops and old estates are somthing we do when he's free.
i'm not fussy with my food, i'm just more particular cos i've been eating out ALOT since very young and have tasted some really really awesome food that now, i'm not able to share with my kid.
the kids are missing out on what really good food tastes like, and its sad.
cos nowadays what tastes good to a child is fast food. fast food is not food. our kids need to know theres more to life than french fries and nuggets (yes i know the occasional fries doesn't kill!!).
i think i'm done here...better juz stick to keropokman and camemberu's blog where i can just read & drool at their beautiful pictures and keep my comments to myself.
happy eating ;)
ps: to ieat, my apologies if the words i used were hurtful, didn't meant it that way...just a bored SAHM (browsing yr blog that day) giving her comments, thats all.
would still love to know what you had at hooked on heads! :)
anony: Hello! Sorry if I made you quite upset, but I was just quoting a random example of how readers shouldn't be dishonoring bloggers just coz their tastes differ. And it so happened that you posted a comment on Dr Leslie's blog yesterday, I saw it today and randomly mentioned your comment in my latest rambles. Guess you caught me in a lousy mood too.
No hard feelings. All's said and forgotten. Just do come back to Dr Leslie's blog to read and drool too! :)
hey anon/vfm..
so far all i read is criticsm from u. noone is saying u shldnt comment. u can agree to disagree.
but why dont u post some recommendations up? let les know what you consider old school good hawker food out there, wouldn't that be a good thing??
Your, into old school food - food that should taste like how they tasted when their grandparents, parents, old relatives used to make them.I think, there's no way you're ever gonna find.I lived on a farm, vegetables were grown using natural(pigs,chicken etc animal waste)Chicken,ducks were fed natural grains and unwanted veges.Pigs were commonly fed louts leaves,mixture of natural grains etc.Nowadays nearly everything is fed and grown by artificial and grown hormones.The cook might be doing everything right.But how are you going find the old school food taste.Just accept the way things are now.
When I give a review about the food, everyone has their right to give their opinion on my review.
When people give their review on my review, others similarly have a right to give their opinion on what is said.
In the end, everyone has the right to give their opinion. Agree or disagree, but every comment needs to be done in a manner that shows respect for everyone else.
Don't we all agree on this? We all have a right to say what we want to say and we defend other people's right to do the same.
But in order to have the right to express an opinion, we also need to be prepared to be criticized in like manner. And when one is criticized, the best way to find out whether the criticism is valid or not is to see how others view the criticism.
I think its possible to give a counter view without being "nasty". Criticisms that put down or make others feel discouraged should not be made. All it takes is to review your post before posting and see how it would feel if it had been directed to yourself. At the end of the day, its all about respect.
I believe Anonymous didn't meant her post that way but it sure came across as rather thoughtless ramblings which was discouraging to the receiver. I hope she'll not leave this blog but continue to share her views.
we often speak or write faster than we think. I think VFM you're just probably used to using the words sucks more than overrated heh. My taste with ieat certainly differ alot and we hardly agree with each other :)
Joe's Kitchen has hit and misses, Hooked on Heads yet to try. I'm very fussy when it comes to fish head keke.
I think no hard feelings at all as it's apparent you're not out to make trouble. We all have differing opinions that's all :)
all is well....all is well vfm !! do let us know the secret location of the no sign board chicken rice ! or better still bring me there :)
Hi vfm,
Usually negative/forceful words used in cyberspace might be construed as being rude or even worse, deameaning for reasons that we sometimes differ in the expression of written words compared to the spoken form.
Do share with us your food experiences as i'd like to find out your favourite haunts too :)
mien.... your engrish is very good..
i have to read that like thrice to get what you are trying to say...*feel very zen now *peace
mooohahahahah
wacow.... your english is better than mien's....its excellent for a cow...
i translate in simpler engrish for you = harshly written words can sound worse than when its spoken...
moohahahhhaa..
Mien, business proposal for you. Can read those words of yours with rain or waves or forest background sounds... and record albums. Can really relax... We can call it A Slice of Ieat or Meditations for the Tummy. ; )
i queued abt 1 hr or more? last sat to try it..
sadly, i dun find it tat fantastic.. =(
reason: too many people & they do very fast.. thus e gula melaka is still in small lumps when i brought it home.. none of packs haveputu piring oozing gula melaka..
to make up for my time for queueing so long, i got 20 packs but i wun go back anymore as i think i can find better ones..
You have to eat it piping hot if you want to experience the melted gula melaka effect. You tapau home of course not melted already. Its just like you tapau Ice Kachang home and expect the ice to be still nicely shaved.
when i brought home, everything was still piping hot, still can see e steam... i live very near there, it's not like i took an hour ride home..
so piping hot tat my tongue got scalded from e steam let out by e kueh.. but there is no gula melaka oozing out.. =(
anyway, at least i tried it once & i know i wun waste time queueing when i can get e same thing from other places!!
The camera does not lie. When you get it fresh from the steamer, the gula melaka oozes out. This putu piring does not taste like any of the other ones around!
ai ya.. nvm lar.. i just treat it as i suay lor... =(
You have to eat there hot,I have eaten number of times there hot, it oozes out, even 5 mins the gula melaka won't oozes out.It's like pau when eat on the spot the juices flows out, wait awhile you won't get the juices flow
Well said. I like the Pau analogy!
time to visit this...putu piring and Yong li tom anyone? :)
I realised I haven't commented on this post, and I thought I did!
Well, bunny and I once queued a whopping 45 minutes for this, only to be utterly disappointed.
Oozing gula melaka? Maybe like Khim, we were suay that day. But I was certain I bit into bits of unmelted lumpy gula melaka.
Here's my mitigating take: Maybe they can't handle the crowd and make their putu piring at haste, thus not melting the gula melaka properly.
So for me and bunny, that was our first and final time there. I can get as good a putu piring at a pasar malam. Or maybe it was a bad day for them, I dunno. But I won't take any more chances with 45 mins wait.
As with first impressions, all it takes is the first time. Make or break.
hi drummer,
yes, it's exactly my sentiments!! i've been asking my malay colleagues whether they tried n like e putu piring..
some never tried before & some said tat they dun think it's nice at all. in fact, one of them told me tat those at pasar malams r better..
i've already mentioned earlier tat "..too many people & they do very fast.. thus e gula melaka is still in small lumps.."
maybe leslie had visited them during off-peaks, plus wif anyone wif camera, i'm sure they'll do a better job... but try queueing when there's more than 20 people in front of u & see if they do a same thing..
like Greg, it's my first & last time there too.. i wun wanna waste my time queueing more than 1 hour to eat something not worth my time for..
u guys know me, if food is good & i've tried it, i wun say it's bad & vice versa!
& may i add 1 last point: e gula melaka on extreme crowded days r not as much as wat is shown here. it's definitely lesser than tat!
I have to line up like everyone else, camera or not and they just dish it out. I have been there several times already and have to admit that sometimes the gula melaka is not oozing out like the picture. But still tastes really good piping hot. When I bring it home, it is not as good.
Am commenting after having eating regularly for the last few months (around once a fortnight); of course I having been eaten it long ago before..
The gula hasn't been oozing at all until today, where just 1 piece (out of 6) did, but only for a few seconds!! So ieat must have been lucky.
I used to think that there is too much sugar to rice flour ratio but I thought is was not as sweet today, though still sweet. However, Mum did comment that she thought it was smaller, I think maybe it is just slightly flatter.
Nevertheless, I still like to eat it within the first minute, hot piping putu piring with cold shredded coconut.
Did have another piece an hour later at home but it was quite dry and hard by then, which really has been so from the first time I ate it.
Yohomogi
Had it last Friday with Liverpool. No oozing gula melaka but still very good. Yes I think that the time I took the photo, I was very lucky to catch a oozing one!
yup finally had it last Friday with ieat, 3 for a $1!, hard to find another as good! :)
Mine had been oozing almost everytime I bought.Maybe I don't buy during peak hrs.No way I will Q 45 mins for 3 or 6 pcs. The maximum I waited less than 5 mins.But so far this the best Putu Piring I have tried. Waiting for better ones to be recommended.
Fatme - you must be very lucky for your max waiting time to be less than 5 minutes!
Holy Drummer- it's so simple when I see long Q I don't buy.And this month till Hari Raya is over no way I go near the stall.
OK leh, we were there last week and the waiting time was like 10mins. Fasting month means that the queue is shorter as the Muslims don't eat at 4pm.
Oops, forgot about that I was there last friday too, around 6.20p.m and Q was long.More over around this month they steam more Putu Piring and keep in warmer to meet the demand.So if buy earlier likely to get from warmer(not sure about 4p.m it might still very early)or end up in the Q.
Thanks , this is my next outing location.
I wanted to give it a try few days ago, but too bad, The Banquet was close down. Do you know where this Putu Piring has shifted to?
It has shifted to Mr. Teh Tarik, an adjacent coffeeshop.
waaah i love this treat! Especially the coconut shavings!! The owner should open branches. Cheap and good.
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