When I found Ann Chin stall in the labyrinth of Chinatown Complex and stood looking at it, a sense of familiarity struck me. Yes, I had been here before and had tried the popiah here. Yet I could not recall when was it. Anyway, since I was already at Ann Chin, I would try their popiah (Hokkien spring roll) again.
Each popiah was $1.70. And I would have wanted to try their kueh pie tee too if I did not have a super-full lunch earlier. I placed the order and watched as the lady made my spring roll.
She used two spring roll wrappers to wrap the fillings. It had became rather common among popiah-makers to use two smaller wheat-flour wrappers instead of a bigger one to ensure the wrap would not tear and give way when eating.
And my popiah was ready within 2 minutes. After 5 minutes of trying to find a table to sit down, I shifted one piece aside to look at the contents. It was neither oily nor watery, so the spring roll wrappers was not soggy at all. Looked good!
The popiah was crunchy! Apart from the usual turnip strips and beansprouts, there were lettuce, eggs, ground peanuts and crispy bits of fried flour. Most of the ingredients added on to the crunchiness of the spring roll, except for the eggs.
The sweetness from the turnips was just nice, not too sweet. And one thing notable (or rather, I did not notice) was the absence of thick wrapper layers that usually made spring rolls too chewy.
It was good for a light meal or as snack after meals.
Address:
Chinatown Complex, #02-112
Opening Hours:
8am - 7pm | Daily