Eat Deep-Fried Durian Balls At This Chic Halal Cafe

... Upeh restaurant from KL, which serves Kelantanese-style food with a modern spin. This pretty two-month-old eatery near Neil Road is the brand’s first overseas outpost. According to its owner, Kelantanese food is known for its heavy use of coconut and seafood, as the state is near the sea. It’s also richer and less spicy than Malay food in Singapore.

The 40-seater is done up like your usual trendy cafe, with handsome wooden interiors and lots of greenery, but it’s the pleasant scent of rempahs and curries that fill the air, not coffee. Upeh refers to the branches and leaves of the coconut tree, though they’re not actually used in the food here.

The Singapore outlet is overseen by Kelantan native Fairus Ayuni (above with her daughter Qaisara), 33, who makes sure the food, cooked with recipes developed by her mother who founded the restaurant in Malaysia, is up to scratch. "We see ourselves as carrying on a heritage through the food served here,” Ayuni tells us, pointing at Kelantanese favourites on the menu that are little-known in Singapore, like Nasi Tumpang, layers of rice and meat wrapped in a banana leaf cone. She initially told us she might be closing down the cafe as business is sluggish, but has since changed her mind... for now. So visit while you can.

A Kelantan classic that's almost like nasi lemak, except made with brown glutinous rice. The sticky grains are steamed with coconut milk, pandan leaves, and lemongrass until wonderfully light-textured and aromatic, with a yummy tender bite. It’s served with an unattractive-looking but tasty dry-style chicken rendang coated in a piquant, spicy paste. Delish together, though the perfumey rice is the star here.

Another Kelantanese signature. Think a non-spicy laksa of sorts featuring flat rice noodles in a thick gravy of coconut milk enriched with mackerel paste, made by steaming and deboning the fish, then pounding the flesh into a pulp. It's served with fresh vegetables, and a spoonful of fiery sambal belacan. This has a rich, almost porridge-like consistency which some may find off-putting. But we like the fresh fish flavour and savoury-sweet coconut gravy counterpointed by the intense sambal.

Lekor is a traditional Kelantanese fish sausage, made by pounding mackerel flesh with sago flour, then deep-frying the paste. These have a nice bouncy texture, but are overwhelmingly fishy even after a dip in the accompanying chilli sauce.

The dessert menu features many durian-spiked modern Malaysian (not necessarily Kelantan-style) sweets. Like this corn muffin dolloped with durian paste and vanilla ice cream. This tastes more of vanilla than the king of fruit — we prefer the fried durian balls here.

A pat of chewy glutinous rice is bathed in a pool of durian and thick coconut milk and topped up with more coconut cream, caramel and toasted almonds. It’s a perfect cross between kueh and warm steamed pudding.

Wash it all down with this rich, frothy beverage made from a Thai tea mix and hints of vanilla. Not quite reminiscent of "candy", but still fun to drink.

Upeh is at 67 Kampong Bahru Rd, S169371. Tel: 8606-0611. Ramadan hours: Mon-Fri noon-3pm; 6pm-10pm & Sat-Sun 6pm-10pm. Ramadan weekends by reservation only. Last orders 30 mins before closing. www.facebook.com/upehsingapore