Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Appam

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Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Appam

Appam
Appam



Nothing was sponsored, we visited as regular paying customers. Photos in this post were taken between 2000 and 2021 (across 21 years!), as such, the quality of photos varies drastically due to advances in camera technology. Mobile smartphones were in their infancy and had yet to become widespread.


Also Known As:
Appam, Hoppers, Aapum, Apam, Vella Appam


Average Price Per Serving:
SGD $1 - $4








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Description:
The Appam is a Singaporean Indian dish, similar to a pancake, with a distinctive bowl shape from the appachatti griddle / pan it's cooked in. Also known as Hoppers, Aapum, Apam, or Vella Appam, the Appam dish is usually priced around SGD $1 to $4 per serving. It's most often eaten during breakfast, but can sometimes serve as a snack throughout the day.

The standard plain Appam is made with a batter, consisting of ground white rice, sugar, salt, coconut milk, yeast, and water, left to ferment and rise overnight. Swirled in a hot appachatti griddle / pan, along with ghee / clarified butter, the Appam will have a round thick moist fluffy soft center, with fragile thin crispy lacy edges surrounding the pancake. On its own, the plain Appam has a grainy savoury sweet salty flavour.

Variations on the typical plain Appam feature the addition of a single ingredient. By far, the 2 most common variations are; the Egg Appam with an added egg that lends eggy sweet flavour; and the Butter Appam which features decadent ghee / clarified butter that carries buttery sweet salty flavour. Other quirky variations include toppings such as cheese, pandan / screwpine leaf with palm sugar, hazelnut chocolate spread, or durian paste.

A meal of Appam is typically served in a pair, accompanied with 2 toppings. This includes grainy orange coloured palm sugar crystals which lend a sweet note, or fluffy grated coconut with earthy floral sweet flavour. At some stalls, a side dish of sweetened coconut milk that carries earthy floral sweet savoury flavour is served as a dipping gravy. In Singapore, Appam is usually sold at speciality stores, and is rather uncommon.


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1. Deen's Food Stall
@ Tekka Centre, 665 Buffalo Road #01-273
Opening Hours: Daily 7am – 7pm

Taken in 2012


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Appam (SGD $1 per piece) @ Deen's Food Stall.

As a rather uncommon dish, few places sell Appam; those that do usually only have it available during breakfast.

At Deen's they have this yummy little pancake available all day, serving it consistently for over a decade.

The soft moist centre and crisp lacy edges of the Appam are delicately beautiful, and it picks up the fluffy grated coconut and grainy sugar crystals well.

Gentle earthy savoury sweet flavour. The default set has 2 large pieces, making it quite filling.





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2. Gayatri Restaurant
@ 122 Race Course Road #01-01
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10:30pm

Taken in 2011


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Appam (SGD $6.50) @ Gayatri Restaurant.

This premium version is only available here from 3pm onwards, an oddity as it's usually eaten at breakfast; though having it for high tea makes sense.

Served with a default 2 pieces, their Appam is large, with a soft warm moist center and thin crispy lacy edges, having aromatic grainy sweet savoury salty flavour.

Served with grainy orange coconut sugar crystals, and a sweetened coconut milk dip, both of which lend a lovely addictive layer of sweet notes to the dish. Excellent even on its own.





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3. Heaven's Indian Curry / Heavens
@ 20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre, 20 Ghim Moh Road #01-15
Opening Hours: Tue - Sun 6am – 1pm, Closed Mon

Taken in 2012


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Appam (SGD $3) @ Heavens.

Previously known as Heaven's Indian Curry, this stall specialises in 2 items - thosai and appam.

Madame Muthuletchmi Veerapan and son Suren execute this deftly here. Their plain appam has crispy thin edges with a pillow soft center, sweet and savoury with a light sour tang from the fermented rice batter.

It's paired with grainy orange sugar and fluffy fresh grated coconut, lending lovely earthy sweet flavour.

Their 'Princess' version is all the more decadent and delicious, with melted butter, gooey cheddar cheese, and a fried egg as a crown.

As their stall name suggests, it's simply divine.





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4. Rajarani Thosai
@ Tampines Round Market & Food Centre, 137 Tampines Street 11 #01-33
Opening Hours: Thu - Tue 7am – 2:30pm, Closed Wed

Taken in 2015


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Appam (SGD $1 Plain, $1.50 Egg) @ Rajarani Thosai.

Specialising in both thosai and appam, it's easy to spot this decade-old stall where they painstakingly hand-make their dishes - just look for the longest queue.

The Plain Appam has a piping hot soft moist center with fragile lacy edges, and a grainy savoury sweet salty flavour.

By contrast, the Egg Appam has a fluffy pillow soft center with the crown of egg, which lends eggy sweet notes. However, the lacy edges are much less prominent.

Both are served with grainy orange sugar which lends a layer of sweet flavour, yum.





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5. Sri Aachi Aappakadai
@ 45 Chander Road
Opening Hours: Thu - Mon 6am – 3pm, 5pm – 10:30pm, Tue 6am – 10:30pm, Closed Wed

Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Appam (SGD $3) @ Sri Aachi Aappakadai.

This small, hole-in-the-wall shop is nearly constantly packed during breakfast and lunch, but turnover is fast.

They offer simple South Indian staples - rice and vegetables, thosai, idly, puri, pongal, and more.

Their plain appam is well executed, the round pillow soft center surrounded by crisp lacy edges, with earthy sweet savoury salty flavour.

Served in a 2-piece set with grainy orange sugar and (the highlight for me) sweetened coconut milk, lending floral earthy sweet notes. So satisfying.





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- Chennai Dosa Norris Road – Permanently Closed
@ 170 Serangoon Road

Taken in 2019


Taken in 2019






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