KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Popular as an appetiser, popiah is also eaten as a meal by health-conscious diners. Good popiah must be packed with a generous amount of ingredients including a fragrant savoury and sweet tasting shredded yam bean filling.

The Asian “burrito” is essentially a wonderful mix of flavours and textures — chewy skin, juicy yam bean filling and crispy vegetables together with a sweet sauce and spicy chilli sauce.

Most stalls use factory-made skins, which are soft and thin but sometimes break when the popiah is too soggy. It is rare for a popiah stall seller to take the trouble to make their own popiah skin even though it will be far superior with a slightly chewier texture.

In Malacca, the Peranakan popiah uses a homemade egg skin. The texture is slightly thicker with a more tender bite, reminiscent of kuih dadar’s pandan flavoured skin. The Indian Muslims from Penang also have their own variant, which is made with a filling of turmeric shredded yam bean cooked with shrimps, bean sprouts and a thick sweet and spicy sauce. A popular stall for this Penang variant is located at the Petaling Jaya Section 14 Food Court.

Stall owners have also introduced a fusion version known as the seaweed popiah roll, where popiah is wrapped with an extra piece of seaweed. Inside the roll, you find crunchy raw shredded yam bean, carrot and cucumber, all mixed with mayonnaise. Similar to a salad roll, it makes a refreshing change from the traditional popiah.

Popiah Stall at SS3 Pasar Malam, Jalan 3/64 (Next to Fo Guang Shan), PJ. Available every Tuesday from 4.30pm onwards

Look for this stall run by a friendly young lady at the SS3 pasar malam. What makes her popiah exceptional is she makes her own skin; no preservatives are used. The slightly chewier skin holds a generous amount of filling without breaking. Bite into the popiah to discover tasty shredded yam bean filling, crispy chicken floss, tofu bits, Japanese cucumber shreds and fried shallots. She also sells a delicious fried popiah filled with vegetables. This lady also does the pasar malam circuit around Petaling Jaya and Cheras. On Wednesdays, find her at the SS4 pasar malam, on Thursdays, it’s the SS2 (Chow Yang area) pasar malam, on Saturdays, it’s the Bandar Mahkota Cheras pasar malam and on Sundays, it’s the Taman Megah pasar malam.

Sisters Crispy Popiah, Imbi Market, KL. Open: 7am to 11am. Closed on Mondays.

Even though Sisters Crispy Popiah is franchised all over the Klang Valley, one of its best outlets is this stall in Imbi Market that is personally run by one of the sisters who own this successful company. What makes the popiah exceptionally good is their marvellous mix of textures — crispy crunchy bits, toasted ground peanuts and a slightly thicker cut moist yam bean filling. No wonder the tourists that visit the market always zoom in on this tasty popiah.

QSQ Popiah, Restoran Kam Heong, 8, Jalan Tengah, PJ. Open: 7am to 2.30pm.

This stall offers the traditional style popiah and a few varieties of the new fangled seaweed popiah. The popiah here is packed with fresh ingredients including fine crispy bits for texture. The seaweed roll is tightly wrapped and incredibly appetising with a generous filling of shredded yam bean, carrot and cucumber together with crispy chicken floss. Aside from the original flavour for the seaweed popiah, you can also order the spicy, wasabi and citrus variants.

Baba Low’s 486, 11, Lorong Kurau, Bangsar, KL.

Drop by this place for a taste of their Peranakan popiah, which is made with a tender egg skin. The yam bean filling is also different; darker brown in colour and cooked with a sauce flavoured with gula Melaka and tau cheo or fermented soybean paste. You will also find bean sprouts and fried crispy shallots for extra crunch to your popiah. Usually, minced garlic is added to Peranakan popiah, but this version omits it.

Tan Kee Popiah Stall, Medan Selera Taman Eng Ann, Jalan Pekan Baru, Klang. Open: 10.30am to 5.30pm. Closed on Tuesdays

Sinful lard fritters and slices of lap cheong or waxed meat sausages amp up the humble popiah at this stall located at the popular Taman Eng Ann food court. Even though the filling tends to be too moist, many flock to eat this popiah filled generously with shredded yam bean, egg, tofu and cucumber, all wrapped in the slightly chewy homemade skin. Pair the popiah with other goodies from the food court, like a bowl of refreshing leng chee kang or cendol. Other popular eats here include the chee cheong fun, rojak, assam laksa and curry mee.