MELAKA, Dec 18 — There’s something quietly comforting about watching putu piring being made. 

No fuss, no theatrics — just pale little cakes rising from steam, soft as morning fog. Break one open and the interior reveals a molten heart of gula Melaka, dark and rich.

It’s amazing how three simple ingredients — freshly grated coconut, rice flour, gula Melaka — and a light touch blend to create a truly peerless putu piring. Simplicity, in the right hands, can feel like artistry.

For many of us, a bite of this brings back memories we didn’t realise were stored away. Evenings wandering pasar malam stalls with the family, waiting impatiently for treats that always seemed too hot to handle. 

Back then, putu piring was everywhere — ubiquitous, unremarkable in its availability. Now, it’s something we hunt for, something we ask around about, something we feel oddly relieved to find at all.

Which is why discovering this little stall in Taman Sin Hoe feels oddly serendipitous. Situated along Lorong Medan Pasar, right in front of Tong Nam Bakery, it appears without ceremony. 

No obvious sign. Just a husband-and-wife team, a weathered table, and a baker’s dozen of conical steamers.

The couple share that most of their day is spent preparing ingredients so everything used is fresh. And because of this, the cooking doesn’t begin until about 11am, sometimes noon. 

On good days, what they make disappears quickly, before their closing time of 3pm, snapped up by regulars who know to come early or risk going home empty-handed.

Putu piring looks straightforward — rice flour, gula Melaka, grated coconut. Three ingredients. Nothing fancy. 

But as with many foods that appear simple, the margin for error is razor-thin. A heavy hand leads to dense cakes. Too little filling and the magic goes missing.

Here, watching them work is like watching a quiet craftsperson. Sprinkling rice flour into the metal saucer, adding a nugget of gula Melaka, then layering on more flour. 

The way the top is shaped: barely touching it, letting the flour remain loose and airy. As though the cake might collapse under pressure — or maybe resist becoming anything other than light.

Once shaped, the cakes are placed into steamers. There’s a rhythm to how they check for doneness — flip, tap, decide. Some go back for a few seconds more, others are lifted out and placed onto banana leaves generously dressed with young, fresh coconut.

The stall’s version of putu piring leans more heavily on the grated coconut than the gula Melaka, creating something that is not too cloyingly sweet and, hopefully, healthier. 

We tell ourselves that this will be more forgiving on our waistlines — and wonder if we can risk having a couple more.

To do justice to all this effort, eat your putu piring while it’s still steaming. The softness gives way, the filling oozes, and the coconut provides a savoury counterpoint that keeps everything in balance. 

And as you finish the last bite, you might realise something: sometimes the joy of food isn’t in discovering the new, the hyped, the extravagant — but in rediscovering that which has always been here, waiting, unchanged.

That is, if you come early enough before it’s all sold out!

Putu piring stall at Taman Sin Hoe

In front of Tong Nam Bakery, 41-C,

Taman Sin Hoe,

Melaka.

Open Thu-Sun 11am-3pm; Mon-Wed closed

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.