20-05-2025
Ghim Moh Fried Carrot Cake Showdown: Hock Soon vs Ghim Moh Carrot Cake
The last time I visited 20 Ghim Moh Road Market and Food Centre for a food guide, I noticed there were 2 carrot cake stalls – Hock Soon Carrot Cake and Ghim Moh Carrot Cake. It's been a few months since I did, but I was instantly reminded of the incident when thinking of contenders for this episode of the Food Showdown series.
I'm a certified white fried carrot cake girlie, but I can appreciate a good black carrot cake now and then. Most of the flavour in this case would depend on the cook's chosen amount of dark soy sauce in the recipe. Hence, I decided to use black carrot cake as the basis for comparison in this Ghim Moh Fried Carrot Cake Showdown to allow more area for consideration.
What I first noticed about Ghim Moh Carrot Cake was that it had a long queue of customers while Hock Soon's front remained mostly empty.
Hock Soon Carrot Cake was run by 1 vendor, who handled both the payments and cooking. Though there wasn't a queue, customers still appeared one after another to make orders. While it wasn't clear whether it was because of the lack of queue or the hawker's swift actions, I received my order fairly quickly.
On the other hand, the Ghim Moh Carrot Cake queue resulted in me waiting around 10 minutes for my dish to be done. The line at its front was ever-present, and the hawker had to take the orders of those behind in advance to prepare them in time. Having colleagues in the stall in this case was a great help in keeping service as fast as possible, since each person could commit to a single task to increase overall efficiency.
It would be tricky to compare both stalls based on price and portion if they were vastly different. Fortunately for me, the pricing range offered at both stalls was identical. Available in sizes Small, Medium, and Large (S$3.50, S$4, S$5), customers could choose to have either Black or White Carrot Cake based on individual preference.
Hock Soon's Black Carrot Cake (above) was slightly smaller in portion than Ghim Moh's Black Carrot Cake despite the plates being almost the same size.
However, there was a higher heap of the fried carrot cake for Hock Soon while Ghim Moh's (above) was more scattered around the plate.
There's not much to say about the presentation of fried carrot cake. Both stall vendors roughly scooped the mixture onto the plate without being too meticulous about the small details.
One characteristic that did stand out, however, was that Hock Soon's plate included a spring onion garnish while Ghim Moh's didn't. The vendor had asked me if I wanted some, and I agreed, of course.
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Hock Soon's carrot cake had large chunks that were nicely soft. It was wetter, causing the pieces to clump together and possessed a sweeter flavour, which I assumed was from the dark soy sauce. It was obvious, based on appearance alone, that the vendor did not skimp on the main seasoning ingredient that created the distinction between black and white carrot cake.
What I liked about Ghim Moh Carrot Cake was that their carrot cake was more charred, creating pleasantly crispy but not burnt bits that crackled with every bite. The carrot cake pieces were smaller than Hock Soon's, but there was a softness that came from it containing more eggs. It was also more salty as it contained more chye poh, and I could taste the savoury-sweet flavour alongside the soft crunch of the preserved radish.
For a better comparison, I opted for the chilli on the side to assess the fried carrot cake with and without the accompanying spice. Bringing into account the fact that these were two different stalls, it was expected that their chilli would taste nothing alike.
Hock Soon Carrot Cake's chilli had a nice kick. It had a more orange hue compared to Ghim Moh's version, and was visibly more greasy as there was oil pooling around the paste's edges. It tasted shrimpy, and the consistency was that of a blended chilli paste.
Meanwhile, Ghim Moh Carrot Cake's chilli contained small pieces of cut-up garlic. Though most places mince or finely chop the spice to incorporate its flavour more smoothly, the somewhat haphazardly cut bits in this one had a bite to them.
There were even visible chilli seeds, which led me to brace myself in case the paste decided to singe my tastebuds off. Was this unpleasant in any way? Not at all – the punch of garlic and spiciness was powerful but not too overwhelming.
Ghim Moh's chilli was definitely spicier and smaller in amount than Hock Soon's, but both were decent. I would say the decision to go for either stall depends on the customer's flavour preferences.
Among all the showdowns I've done, this one baffled me the most. Both stalls had strengths in different areas, and I genuinely enjoyed both. Ideally, the best version of the dish I could visualise would be Hock Soon's scallions and the size of its pieces, alongside Ghim Moh's portion and crispiness.
After some consideration, I crowned Ghim Moh Carrot Cake as the winner of this Showdown. I had thought about the flavour profiles of both dishes, and found that I preferred Ghim Moh's savouriness, which went well with the egginess and crispy bits. Maybe it isn't so big of a mystery why most locals crowd at Ghim Moh's stall, though it would be nice if they could provide some spring onions for garnish as well!
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