The best chai tow kway in Singapore, black or white

Black or white is the only question that matters, and the undecided order a mix.

If you only make one trip, go to Chey Sua in Toa Payoh for white and Fu Ming in Redhill for black: both hold 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmands and both reward a morning start. The other five are here for a particular style, a cheaper plate or an evening craving. The compromise is timing; most of these are morning stalls, and Newton is the only one built for after dark.

Chai tow kway is steamed radish-and-rice-flour cake, cubed and fried hard with egg, garlic and preserved radish (chye poh) until the edges catch. That much everyone agrees on. Then comes the fork in the road. White carrot cake is left pale and fried until crisp and eggy. Black is glazed with sweet dark soy until sticky and caramelised. Many stalls do both, and the truly undecided order a mix. What separates a good plate from a forgettable one is whether the stall steams its own radish cake, how patient the cook is with the wok and how much wok hei makes it to the plate.

Fried Carrot Cake, Clementi 448

The pick for the black camp in the west: soft radish, crisp bits of egg and sweet soy. Go early, because this is a morning plate, and bring a friend so someone can order the white.

Fu Ming Cooked Food, Redhill

Look for the Mickey Mouse on the signboard. It holds a 2026 Bib Gourmand, makes its carrot cake fresh daily in black and white versions, and the dark soy gives the black its depth. Choose it for a smoky, wok-fried plate, and take home a Chinese or Nyonya rice dumpling while you are there.

Chey Sua Carrot Cake, Toa Payoh West

The white camp’s flagship and a 2026 Bib Gourmand. The cake is fried on one side for crisp edges and a soft middle, with chye poh and visible shreds of radish, and it is cooked to order, so expect to wait. It is upstairs in the same market as Come Daily Hokkien mee, which makes for a strong double bill and a long lie-down afterwards.

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake, Bukit Merah

The elder statesman, and one of the oldest names on this list. It uses milled rice for firm, pillowy radish chunks. Order the black, which is sweet, savoury and spicy at once. Carrot cake runs in the family: the owner’s sister fries her own at Yuan Cheng in Telok Blangah, using only vegetable oil.

Hai Sheng Carrot Cake, Bendemeer

The budget pick, and the oddball: the cheapest plate here, and a black carrot cake turned reddish by a punchy chilli, unlike any other on this list. The stall is easy to miss, so look carefully. Want black and white? You’ll need to order both.

Heng Carrot Cake, Newton Food Centre

Newton’s evening option has been frying since 1971, still steams its own cake and was on Michelin’s 2025 Bib Gourmand list. The white comes with plump prawns and the black is smoky. It costs more than the neighbourhood stalls, but it is the best reason to brave Newton after dark.

Ghim Moh Carrot Cake, Ghim Moh

The best-known stall in its market does both colours; order the white if you find black too sweet. Hock Soon, a few stalls along, does a spicier, more savoury version, so order one plate from each and settle the local argument yourself. The stall also sells satay, otah and rojak, so the detour isn’t wasted.

Ask for extra chilli, eat it fast while the edges still crackle, and don’t let anyone call it a side dish.

What to order

• Black carrot cake · Fried Carrot Cake · #01-45The black-camp pick in the west; go early. Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre.
• Black and white carrot cake; rice dumplings · Fu Ming Cooked Food · #01-49Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026; look for the Mickey Mouse signboard. Redhill Food Centre, 85 Redhill Lane.
• White carrot cake · Chey Sua Carrot Cake · #02-30Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026; fried to order, so expect a wait. Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre.
• Black carrot cake · Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake · #01-37Since the 1950s; order the black. Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre.
• Black carrot cake with chilli · Hai Sheng Carrot Cake · #01-85The cheapest plate here, reddened with chilli. Bendemeer Market & Food Centre.
• White carrot cake with prawns; black · Heng Carrot Cake · #01-28Since 1971, steams its own cake; Bib Gourmand 2025. Newton Food Centre, evenings.
• Black or white carrot cake · Ghim Moh Carrot Cake · #01-16Both colours; white if you find black too sweet. Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre.

Good to know Go in the morning for most of these; Heng at Newton trades in the evening. Geylang Traditional Carrot Cake at Upper Boon Keng was reported closed in January 2026, so it is no longer on this list.