The Ang Ku Kueh Hut: Traditional kueh waffles with fillings like pistachio & hazelnut with ice cream at Kim Keat

The Ang Ku Kueh Hut is situated along an obscure stretch of old shophouses at Kim Keat Road. Besides serving traditional Ang Ku Kueh, the shop has recently launched the Kuehffle which transforms this old-school kueh into waffles.

Is it gimmicky or will it actually work? I guess my colleague, Rachel and I would be the judge of that.

Besides allowing customers to takeaway kueh and Rainbow Agar Agar (S$4), the cute space has a cosy sitting area which can accommodate up to 16 people.

Previously located at Upper Thomson, the current place has been the new home of The Ang Ku Kueh Hut for the past 3 years. We decided to forego the traditional, and dive straight into their new creation.

What I tried at The Ang Ku Kueh Hut

The colourful and round ang ku kuehs were shoved into ice cream sticks, a cute presentation which resembled mini popsicles. They were then placed on a waffle griddle before they were smashed down by its lid.

Depending on the filling, the timing for the metamorphosis roughly takes about 3.5 to 5 minutes (the ones with nuts usually take longer).

We decided to order 3 of the Kuehffle Set (S$7), which entitled us to a kuehffle, a scoop of ice cream and a sauce (kaya, chocolate or cheese). Alternatively, if you’d like to just savour it by itself, the kuehffle has à la carte options: Plain (S$1.50), Classic (S$2.50) and Premium (S$3.50). 

If you’re like us, and would be overwhelmed by the number of choices you had to make at the counter, you could always ask for the sauce to be served on the side rather than drizzled on the ice cream— you can then take your sweet time at the table deciding on which pairing to go for.

We got the ball rolling with the Yam Kuehffle paired with Coconut ice cream.

After giving it some thought, we decided to drizzle the kaya sauce over the coconut ice cream. Since both of them are made from similar ingredients, why not? Right?

The delicate flavour of pandan coming from the kaya enhanced the buttery and milky notes of the ice cream. It was as if they were meant for each other.

Due to the compressed heat of the waffle griddle, the surface of the yam kuehffle had a crusty layer. The moment my teeth sunk into it, an ASMR-worthy crackling sound was produced.

The slightly-sweet yam filling had become crumbly and complemented the chewy waffle skin really well. When I paired it with the coconut and kaya combo, the flavours reminded me of orh nee, but in a totally different perspective… interesting!

Our next combination trio consisted of a Pistachio Kuehffle (+S$1 for premium), a good-old vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

I wasn’t sure if the heat from the waffle machine had elevated the flavours of the pistachio filling. But it was extremely nutty and robust in taste, and the powdery texture reminded me of a really fragrant cookie. 

I’ve never had an actual pistachio ang ku kueh before and this experience ignited my curiosity to try one in the future.

As vanilla is generally neutral, it was all good when I slathered the chocolate sauce all over it. The 3 elements worked hand-in-hand to make the dish an absolute delight. 

For our last dessert, we paired the Hazelnut Kuehffle (+$1) with the Belgian dark chocolate ice cream. 

The filling was granular and was surprisingly aromatic and nutty. It reminded me of my favourite Hanuta, which is a hazelnut cream wafer snack from Germany.

I dunked the entire piece of Hazelnut Kuehffle into the chocolate ice cream. The contrast between the hot and cold was satisfying. The chocolate was bitter sweet, and tasted so good when I ate the two together.

As the cheese sauce was the last one standing, I decided to drizzle it onto my hazelnut and chocolate pairing. Rachel glared at me with disgust as I tried this unusual mixture.

I didn’t expect the addition of the savoury cheese sauce to match the chocolate ice cream and Hazelnut Kuehffle so well! If you’re adventurous like me, try this unique blend of ingredients yourself. Who knows? You might enjoy it too.

Final thoughts

Traditional foods have been around for a long time and we’ve already got ourselves accustomed to how they look and taste. Innovation and new trends are a continuous cycle and they may or may not always work.

I’m glad that The Ang Ku Kueh Hut took a risk and created something out of the ordinary. Let’s hope we’ll see new takes on the other dishes in the future.

Expected damage: S$7 – S$10 per pax

Order delivery: foodpanda

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