If you’ve been reading up on what to eat in Singapore and came across “carrot cake” on the hawker centre menu, you’d be forgiven for expecting a slice of something sweet with cream cheese frosting.
It’s in fact, one of Singapore’s most beloved hawker dishes and it’s the kind of food that makes no sense until you eat it. Singapore carrot cake has no carrots and it’s not a cake but once you taste it, you won’t care about either of those things.
I realised how confusing this dish can be when I was at a hawker centre, sharing a table with a tourist couple. They asked me for food recommendations and I mentioned carrot cake as one of the must-try dishes there.
They told me they had actually seen it earlier—but skipped it because they saw the name but could not understand what it was. It struck me then that this dish is deeply misunderstood by visitors so it’s time to do some justice to this underrated dish and give it the spotlight it deserves.
Here’s everything you need to know before you order it.
What Is Singapore Carrot Cake?
Singapore carrot cake — known locally as chai tow kway (菜头粿) in Hokkien — is a savoury stir-fried dish made from steamed blocks of white radish (daikon) and rice flour, cut into cubes and fried with eggs, preserved radish, garlic and spring onions.
The “carrot” in the name comes from a translation issue. In Chinese, white radish is sometimes referred to as “white carrot” (白萝卜, bai luobo). When Hokkien immigrants brought this dish to Singapore, the name came with it — and the English translation stuck, even though the vegetable in question looks and tastes nothing like an orange carrot.
The “cake” refers to the steamed radish and rice flour block — so the best way to perhaps explain it in my own words is Fried Radish Dish.
Black or White? The Question You’ll Be Asked
When you order carrot cake at a hawker stall in Singapore, the uncle or auntie behind the wok will almost always ask you this question: “Black or white?”
This is not a reference to race. It refers to two distinctly different versions of the same dish.
White carrot cake is the original version. The radish cake cubes are fried with egg, preserved radish (chai poh), garlic and spring onions and seasoned with light soya sauce. The egg is scrambled through the cubes as it fries, giving you a dish that’s savoury, slightly crispy at the edges and fragrant from the wok. The flavour is subtle — you taste the egg and the preserved radish, with a slight softness from the steamed cake underneath.
Black carrot cake adds one key ingredient: sweet black sauce (kicap manis or dark soy sauce). This is stirred through the entire dish as it fries, coating every cube in a sticky, sweet sauce. The result is a darker, richer, slightly sweeter version — caramelised especially around the slightly charred parts and much more intense in flavour.
Both versions are equally popular. Most of the time, I would be inclined to order the black version, some occasions I might settle for the white version. But my overall personal preference is black. Most stalls will do a half-half plate, so I highly recommend you get this so you’ll have a taste of both.
What Does It Taste Like?
White carrot cake is mild, eggy and slightly smoky from the wok. The preserved radish (chai poh) adds a slightly salty, umami depth. The texture is soft inside with slightly crispy edges where the egg has crisped up against the hot wok.
Black carrot cake is bolder — sweet, sticky, and caramelised, with the same eggy base underneath. The sweetness from the dark sauce makes it feel more indulgent.
Both versions rely heavily on wok hei — the smoky, slightly charred flavour that comes from a very hot wok and fast, confident frying. A good plate of carrot cake should have that slight smokiness. If it doesn’t, the wok wasn’t hot enough.
How Is It Made?
The white radish cake is made by cutting raw daikon, mixing it with rice flour and water into a batter, then steaming it in trays until it sets into a firm block. The blocks are then cut into rough cubes.
At the hawker stall, the cubes are thrown into a very hot wok with oil, garlic, and chai poh (preserved salted radish, which has been rinsed and sometimes lightly fried separately). Eggs are cracked in and scrambled through the mixture. For the black version, sweet dark sauce is added and the whole thing is tossed together until the sauce coats every piece and caramelises slightly.
How to Order It at a Hawker Centre
Walk up to the carrot cake stall and say: “One carrot cake, black / white.”
If you like it spicy, just tell them and they will accommodate this. I usually have mine black and more spicy.
A standard plate costs between $3 and $5, depending on the location of the hawker centre and the portion size. Some stalls offer small, medium, and large portions. A medium is usually sufficient for one person as part of a hawker meal.
A Brief History
Chai tow kway originated in the Chaoshan (Teochew) region of Guangdong province in China. Teochew immigrants brought the dish to Singapore in the early 20th century, where it became a fixture of street food culture and later the hawker centre system.
The dish was particularly associated with the working class — inexpensive, filling, and easy to cook in large quantities. Radish and rice flour were cheap and widely available, which made carrot cake an accessible meal for labourers and families alike.
This dish is part of Singapore’s everyday hawker culture—it was something I grew up eating for breakfast. Today, this culture has been officially recognised, with Singapore’s hawker culture inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
The Bottom Line
Singapore carrot cake is one of those dishes that rewards curiosity. The name makes no sense and nothing about it prepares you for how satisfying it is. It’s cheap, fast, deeply savoury and cooked with the kind of muscle memory that only comes from decades behind a wok.
So when you come across a hawker stall selling carrot cake, don’t pass it by. Order both the black and white version and let me know which side you are on!
If you’re exploring the city, you can also check out my Tanjong Pagar walking trail, where I’ve included a stop for carrot cake towards the end.
