6 Bizarre Fried Carrot Cake Flavours You’ve Never Tried

For those who clicked on this article because you were intrigued by the “bizarre” fried carrot cake flavours, you are not about to be disappointed. No Signboard Prawn Noodles (confusing name, will explain further later) serves some extremely unorthodox carrot cakes. Mala? Tom yum? CHOCOLATE? Cheese? Black pepper? Luncheon meat? All available at a standard price of $4 per plate.

Fried carrot cake (more popularly known as chye tow kuay among Singaporeans) has long been a cornerstone of Singapore’s local food scene. If you have never tried chye tow kuay at least once in your life, what have you been doing??? You are missing out on some eggy, fried, crispy-yet-soft goodness!

According to William Cowper, a famous English poet, “Variety is the very spice of life. That’s what gives it all its flavour”. This certainly is true about the food scene as well. Without further ado, let me share with you how the unique chye tow kuay flavours at No Signboard Prawn Noodles fared.

Black Pepper Fried Carrot Cake:
At first, I was under the impression that the black pepper sauce was to be infused into the carrot cake. Hence, I was slightly disappointed when the owners scooped a gloopy black pepper sauce with mushrooms onto the cooked carrot cake in the wok. The black pepper sauce was slightly sweet and spicy, and sadly still a little cold. As the strong peppery flavour of the sauce was a tad overpowering, the black pepper carrot cake did not make it to my Top 3 chye tow kuay flavours. Rating: 3/10.

Cheese Fried Carrot Cake:
This one actually works quite well, with the creamy cheese sauce and fried carrot cake sharing a harmonious relationship. The cheese added a salty creaminess to the fried carrot cake, while the carrot cake provided a soft and starchy base for the cheese sauce to cling to. While one would expect a strong nacho cheese taste judging by the colour of the sauce, this cheese sauce surprisingly does not overwhelm the dish. Instead, the light and soft creaminess of the savoury cheese provided a lovely contrast to the crispy, charred bits of egg. Rating: 6/10.

Chocolate Fried Carrot Cake:
In theory, this should not work, at all. If Gordon Ramsay were here, he would be aghast and screaming at the horribly mismatched pairing. But in Singapore, far away from the wrath of Ramsay, I dare say that this absurd combination works! In essence, this chocolate carrot cake tasted like a very eggy chocolate cake. Most of the time though, the Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce was so strong that that’s essentially all you can taste. Here’s a tip for those unsure if they want to try this combination: Just think of it as a dessert. Rating: 5/10.

Mala Fried Carrot Cake:

Considering how rare it is to find mala carrot cake, I had to order this. I was pleasantly surprised by the fragrant mala aroma — it was almost akin to eating straight out of the mala xiang guo. Evidently, this was a popular flavour at the table as it was completely polished off. Rating: 7/10.

Luncheon Meat Fried Carrot Cake:
This is reminiscent of the luncheon meat and egg bread my dad used to pack for me when I was attending primary school. Considering that luncheon meat and egg is a tried-and-tested classic combination, there really is nothing much to fault here. However, despite its ability to evoke nostalgia, it is not exceptionally outstanding. Rating: 5.5/10.

Tomyum Fried Carrot Cake:
I did a double-take when my food was served, wondering if I had mistakenly ordered chicken floss instead of tomyum. That is, till i actually sat down and tasted the carrot cake. I’ve heard of chicken, pork and fish floss, but never tomyum floss. The tomyum floss was very unique, with a powdery “floss” texture, and a spicy sourness that complemented the fried carrot cake well. This was quite delightful. Rating: 5.5/10.

My favourite would be the mala chai tow kuay, followed by cheese and, Chocolate. The chocolate chye tow kuay earns bonus points for its ability to masquerade as both a main dish and a dessert. Also, it does take courage to mix sweet Hershey’s sauce with bold savoury flavours, so kudos to No Signboard’s owners for that. 

For those wondering, yes, No Signboard Prawn Noodles actually does sell prawn noodles. 2 years ago, the friendly owners of No Signboard decided to experiment with fried carrot cake, and realised that their “special flavours” of carrot cake were growing in popularity. As such, they decided to expand their prawn noodle stall, and currently occupy 2 stalls at this coffeeshop. Today, the fried carrot cakes have become more popular than the prawn noodles!

Those interested in trying these interesting flavours can follow the address in the description box below. However, I must warn you that No Signboard Prawn Noodles is rather difficult to find. Look out for the stall name “Noodle House” at Ubi 301’s coffeeshop. Look for the inconspicuous Black and Yellow “No Signboard Prawn Noodles” sign positioned directly below the stall name. If you are not observant enough, you will probably end up searching through each and every coffeeshop. Believe me, knowing how the sign looks like will really save you precious time.

In conclusion, while I would not say that the fried carrot cake at No Signboard Prawn Noodles is of excellent standards, it certainly is at least decent. 

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.