#51. Understanding the Joy of Peeling A Rainbow Kueh Lapis And Eating It Layer by Layer

I reached the midway point of a 100 Reasons to Be Happy in Singapore and noticed that I haven’t updated it for a while. Also recently I mentioned that Katy Perry tried this local Nyonya (Peranakan) cake of ours called Kueh Lapis that was traditionally in just pink, red and white, but in the 70’s when I was a child someone decided to make it in rainbow colours including blue and green. The idea somehow stuck and now the ones you find in Singapore are usually multi-coloured.

I don’t know whether to call this a dessert or snack. It seems to fall somewhere in between. It’s a kind of pudding/pastry that is steamed. It’s rich in coconut and made also with rice, tapioca and green bean flour. Sugar and pandan is added to the mix. It is made layer by layer as each layer has to set before the next one can be applied. When you eat it your fingers get all sticky and that’s part of the happy memory of eating it as a child. Rainbow colours are always cheerful and when it’s part of food, even better.

There’s actually a Facebook page for this activity and it shows that Singaporeans are proud of being part of this group. 4248 people are currently members. I guess what makes us Singaporean are little cultural things like this. Whether we’re Chinese, Indian, Malay, Eurasian and or whatever ethnicity – as long as we can relate to this, we’re part of a shared and unique culture and I find that really cool.

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

I peeled off the green and red layers to show you what a single layer looks like. It’s a bit tricky as the item is very sticky, but that’s what makes it even more fun for a kid or I daresay, even an adult reliving their childhood.

photo by bookjunkie

photo by bookjunkie

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.
This entry was posted in Food in Singapore and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to #51. Understanding the Joy of Peeling A Rainbow Kueh Lapis And Eating It Layer by Layer

  1. 365days2play says:

    I normally eat the 1st few layers layer by layer…then I get impatient and end up chomping the whole thing down……

  2. Pingback: Somewhere Over the Rainbow | Singapore Actually

Leave a Reply to 365days2play Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.