Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake – Keeping the Tradition Alive

Whenever I bring tourists on a food tour, one of the stalls I would visit is Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake. This traditional Fuzhou snack is closed to extinction already (the other stall that still does it is Fu Zhou Poh Hwa in Jalan Besar).

Mdm Hoon’s mother came to Singapore with her husband and she been selling these traditional Fuzhou snacks in front of her house to help with the family expenses. In the past, she used mussels as the main ingredient for her Fuzhou cake. Over the years, she has changed to oysters and added fresh prawns and minced meat.

After moving to Maxwell Food Centre, Mdm Hoon took over the business from her mother. Even though the oyster cake looks simple, it takes a lot of work. Mdm Hoon wakes up at 4am every morning to prepare the ingredients so that she can start selling them at 9am.

The essence of this dish lies in the batter. Using rice as the main ingredient, Mdm Hoon soaks the rice grains overnight before grinding them with flour to form a thick and gooey batter. When asked how long the rice grains have to be soaked, she said to me, “It depends on the weather, the soaking time is different everyday.” Surely, it takes a lot of experience to get it right.

So almost everyday, Mdm Hoon will sit in front of the deep fryer to make the oyster cake. She first adds a spoonful of batter before putting cilantro, minced meat, fresh prawns and oysters. Covering the ingredients with another spoonful of batter, Mdm Hoon sprinkles some peanuts on top and send them for a deep-frying session in hot oil. Her husband has been helping out at the stall recently as he helps to explain this old school snack to tourists.

Biting into these oyster cakes sure brings back some childhood memories. Each oyster cake is chock-full of ingredients and I like that it is crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside. Don’t forget to add some chilli sauce to make it better!

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

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