Muslim-Owned Hawker Stall In Bukit Canberra Sells $3 Putu Piring Alongside $18 Steak

Owner previously ran putu piring stall in Chong Pang

Though the pairing sounds odd, it makes a little more sense considering its friendly owner’s previous venture – he previously ran a stall with a business partner selling putu piring at a kopitiam in Chong Pang, Yishun. His brand also made regular appearances at pasar malams across the island.

“We managed to build up quite a steady following since we opened there [in 2017],” says the hawker, who picked up the trade from his putu piring hawker father after first cutting his teeth as an entry-level chef at now-defunct tapas joint The Stomping Ground for two years. “That’s why I decided to put my old brand on [my new] storefront as well, so my old customers would be able to recognise us,” he adds.

Why burgers?

However, a disagreement with his former business partner led to Syarafuddin’s departure from the stall last year, and along with it, his Chong Pang Putu Piring brand. While searching for a new home for the biz, he began developing Bege Rack (a play on the words burger and lamb rack, two of his favourite foods, and pronounced as such). “Actually, I’d been making burgers, pastas and steaks at home for my family for the longest time. It got to the point that my relatives would sometimes joke that I should sell that [instead of putu piring]. But I realised, eh, that’s actually a good idea [to sell burgers and steaks alongside putu piring],” says Syarafuddin.

He soon secured a space at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, investing around $30K with “other family members” to get the stall up and running.

“Business is promising so far. Most of our sales are from our putu piring, but we’re slowly beginning to see more orders for our burgers and other mains,” he says. All the meats here are sourced from a halal supplier.

Prepping the rice flour mix is tricky

According to the hawker, what sets his putu piring apart is his insistence on using a house-made rice flour mix rather than getting it from a supplier which he says some other hawkers do. The exact recipe is a “trade secret”, but he shares that preparation – which typically involves toasting the flour before sieving it into a crumbly powder – is a “multi-step and multi-hour process”. Syarafuddin declares: “I believe that our customers will be able to taste the difference, which is why I’m insisting on it even though we lack manpower.”

Putu Piring, from $3 for four pieces (8 DAYS Pick!)

Upon order, the rice flour mix is scooped into a muslin-lined mould (think larger versions of the kueh tutu steamer) along with your filling of choice. It starts at $3 for four freshly steamed cakes with the classic filling of caramelly gula melaka, though other flavours like Peanut ($3) and Durian ($5) are also sold.

The handmade cakes are soft and delicate, cradling a generous amount of gooey gula melaka that oozes out when you bite into it. But eat it quickly as the palm sugar hardens as it cools, as seen in our photos. The heap of grated coconut it's served with provides a nice textural contrast, but could do with more salt. We find the durian version, stuffed with “D24 durian paste”, rather addictive too. That said, the filling isn’t evenly distributed throughout each cake, leaving some bites rather bland. Our snacks were made by Syarafuddin’s long-time staff member “back from his Chong Pang Putu Piring days”, so we’d chalk it up to performance anxiety during our shoot.

While these aren’t as consistently sedap as the meltingly soft cakes from the famous Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring – which now has eight outlets around Singapore – they’re tasty enough considering the cheaper price tag ($3 here vs $4 for four pieces at Haig Road).

Caramelised Onions Cheeseburger, $8

Syarafuddin’s staff usually do the cooking, but the boss manned the grill himself during our visit.

He whips up a crispy-edged and juicy beef patty (made from an 80-20 percent blend of Australian chuck beef and fat), nestled between buttered brioche buns with housemade caramelised onions (the burger costs $7 sans onions), garlic aioli and melted cheddar cheese.

Satisfyingly succulent stuff, although the brioche buns (branded with the stall’s name – cute) are a tad too dense. We also think the well-seared beef patty could do with a more generous hit of salt to balance out the sweetness from the caramelised onions.

Every burger comes with shoestring fries. They’re crispy and nicely salted, but otherwise unremarkable.

Swiss Mushrooms Cheeseburger, $8 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Essentially a heartier hawker version of Burger King’s Double Mushroom Swiss, that swaps out the caramelised onions for sauteed button mushrooms thickened with a splash of cream. A comforting and yummy burger for $8.

Rib-eye Steak, $18 for 250g

While this is one of the pricier steaks (a striploin starts at $16) we’ve had in a hawker setting, the 250g New Zealand rib-eye boasts an excellent, even sear on both sides. Cutting into the well-seasoned, fairly thick slab reveals well-marbled beef cooked medium-done.

Quite juicy, tender and pretty delish – unlike the disappointing instant mash it came with, doused in an equally blah black pepper sauce. We gave our feedback to the hawker, who has since replaced the side with “fries and a mesclun salad mix”. Overall fair value for the portion if you want better quality steak and don’t mind the hawker setting (provided Syarafuddin’s hired cook who usually works the stove is as skilled as he is at searing meats). As a rough comparison, a 180g prime rib-eye steak at halal casual restaurant Andes by Astons costs $19.90. 

Prawn Aglio Olio, $8

A messy but decent-tasting plate of al dente spaghetti tossed with garlic and lots of chilli powder. Nicely seasoned, though the two medium-sized prawns accompanying the pasta are a bit tough. We’d save our stomach space for the yummier burgers instead.

Bottom line

Despite Bege Rack’s Western food branding, its value-for-money, fairly yummy putu piring is our favourite item here. And if you’re dropping by, we suppose the hearty mushroom burger is worth a try, too. As for the $18 rib-eye steak? It’s tasty enough if you’re willing to fork out that price for a meal in a hawker centre.

The details

Bege Rack is at #01-33 Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, 21 Canberra Link, S752350. Open weekdays 10am – 9pm, weekends 9am – 9pm. More info via Facebook & Instagram.

Photos: Aik Chen

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