Puff-ection

Who makes the premier version of Singapore's famous curry puff? Trish Anderton crisscrosses the Lion City in search of the spicy sensation.

The curry puff is the world's most perfect snack. Its deep-fried exterior is temptingly naughty, but its stuffing of potatoes, chicken, hard-boiled egg and thick curry sauce makes it relatively wholesome. Well, more wholesome than a Double Chocolate Beng Beng, anyway.

A good curry puff is portable, cheap and substantial enough to be a quick lunch; it is so tasty it requires no chili sauce, and that is the highest praise I can give.
Curry puffs may be a humble street snack, but they have clearly become big business: some stalls have evolved into international chains with websites that promote their "mission" and "vision". 

I always figured the mission of the curry puff was to spread joy and high cholesterol to everyone it encountered, but apparently these pastries also have such laudable goals as "to internationalize Asian cuisine in a Crispy Puff concept".
Many Jakartans are familiar with curry puffs by way of the Old Chang Kee stalls at Plaza Indonesia and Senayan City. But Old Chang Kee is only a drop in the curry ocean.  Before setting out on the tasting trail, I consulted that wellspring of trivia, the Internet, to find some places that are well regarded by Singapore foodies. I tried nine puffs -- hardly encyclopedic, but it's a start. Here are some highlights:

Swissbake, Harbour Front Centre
These were clearly upper-crust puffs, so to speak, encased behind glass in a stylish bakery. The flaky, buttery puff pastry is the star here, but it seemed a little too assertive. These are supposed to be curry puffs, after all, not butter puffs. (Actually, butter puffs sound like a good idea. Maybe I should invent them after I finish this story.)
 
Tip Top, Block 722 Ang Mo Kio Ave. 8
Ang Mo Kio may look like a stretch of bland suburban high-rise sprawl, but it is actually one of the most fiercely contested fronts in Singapore's curry puff wars. There are three highly regarded outlets here: Tip Top, Old Chang Kee and 1A. Tip Top is a short walk north of the Ang Mo Kio Hub mall, in a small hawker area next to the Jubilee Entertainment Complex. They were rolling out the puffs by hand when I arrived, so mine was fresh out of the fryer. The crust was slightly dark, with crunchy edges; the filling was moist with big chunks of egg, and the curry spices jumped right out. This was perhaps the most assertively curry-flavored of all the puffs I tried, and it was also my favorite.
 
1A Curry Puff, Ang Mo Kio Hub B2 (and other locations)
Now find your way back to Ang Mo Kio Hub and plunge down to the second level of basement. 1A's claim to fame is its distinctive, swirly crust, "inspired by the intricate layering found on seashells," according to their web site. "Our puffs are grease-free" said the woman behind the counter as she handed me my bag. It was, indeed, a light and dry crust; the filling inside was wetter than most, with big chunks of egg and potato and a pleasant curry flavor. It was an excellent puff, but the crust flaked all over the place and seemed a little fussy for an essentially humble snack.

Old Chang Kee, entrance to Ang Mo Kio Hub (and other locations)
Part of me wants to find something bad to say about Old Chang Kee, since they're a big chain; it doesn’t fit my romantic ideal of a little market stall that has been run by the same hard-working family for 37 years.  But in fact OCK is a marvel of consistency. Their curry puffs are very good: tender, not too flaky or buttery, with a chunky filling and good curry flavor, and while I've been to several outlets, I've never gotten one that seemed tired or subpar.

Wang Ji, Block 1015 Geylang East Ave. 3
This stall is located in a row of food stands near the Aljunied MRT station. It poduces a humble-looking handmade puff similar to the ones at Tip Top. The filling was chunky, with a slightly tangy flavor reminiscent of tamarind or asafetida. Marred only by a slight mushiness of the filling, it ran a close second to Tip Top.
 
Polar Puffs and Cakes, Changi Airport (and other locations)
If you ever leave Southeast Asia for somewhere uncivilized like Europe, and you can't find any curry puffs while you're gone, rest assured that you can get one as soon as you arrive at Changi Airport. Unfortunately, I find Polar's version uninspiring.  The puff-pastry crust is too soft and the filling too smooth and skimpy.

The good news is, there is no need to travel to some obscure corner of Singapore for a good curry puff. If you only have time to grab an Old Chang Kee or 1A at one of their centrally located stalls, you need not feel deprived.  And that is as it should be. Curry puffs aren't like truffles or thousand-year eggs; they are meant to be easy, quick and cheap. So enjoy!

Got your own cherished culinary corner of the city? Spill the beans at JakartaEats@gmail.com, and we will give it a try. Upcoming taster’s choices are lontong sayur and martabak manis.

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