Singapore: Local Desserts

A towering mound of shaved ice sitting on a base of sweetened red beans and palm seeds, doused with brightly coloured syrups and condensed milk. Once a cheap refreshment for dockworkers, it represents mid-20th-century hawker culture. Early versions began as ice balls before evolving into today’s elaborate confection.

Shaved ice crowned with green pandan-flavoured rice-flour jelly, stewed red beans, palm sugar syrup and coconut milk. Its name comes from the West Javanese word for ‘swollen lumps’; the dessert appears in an 1104 Javanese epic. Javanese and later Indian hawkers introduced it to Singapore, where durian toppings are now popular.

A thick porridge made by simmering black glutinous rice until it breaks down, sweetened with palm sugar and scented with pandan leaves. Popular in Malay and Peranakan households, this dish often accompanies bubur terigu. Served warm with a swirl of coconut cream, it exemplifies the region’s love of rice-based sweets.

A Peranakan dessert of cubed sweet potatoes and taro simmered in coconut milk with pandan leaves, sometimes with sago or bananas. The name pairs the Malay word for porridge with a term sounding like the Hokkien word for abundance, reflecting its festive roots. It evolved from the Peranakan pengat dessert.

A Teochew mung bean soup thickened with tapioca starch and amber caramel, perfumed with pandan leaves and served with crunchy you tiao. The name translates roughly to mung bean ‘paste’ or ‘diamonds’; it reflects Teochew culinary influence. Good versions balance soft beans with clear syrup and crisp fritters.

A clear sweet soup served hot or cold, traditionally containing dried longan, gingko nuts, barley, lotus seeds, lily bulbs and sometimes sweet potato or agar agar. Brought by Teochew immigrants, it derives from a five-flowers-and-fruits tonic. Considered cooling in humid climates, it remains a staple at old hawker stalls.