Kuih bingka is a traditional Malay(sian) cake that is baked but no, the texture is quite different as those regular cakes that most are familiar with. I would say it is closer to those no-bake cheesecakes that are chilled to set.
There are many versions or varieties but as far as I can remember, my mum used to make one only – the bingka bandong…
*Sorry for the blurry pic – very old handphone camera shot*
…using what we call bandong here or ubi kayu elsewhere (tapioca). I remember it was baked in the oven and that final touch – the glaze of butter on top for the added fragrance. Of course, we can’t get any outside that comes near to what she made…and unfortunately, I never learnt how to make it myself so these days, I would just have to do without. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I can find any bingka bandong around here that is reasonably good enough.
Other kinds of bingka that are usually available around here would be the bingka pandan…
*Archive photo*
…or the bingka labu (pumpkin) and bingka jagung (corn). I did try making the pumpkin one once but it was rather disastrous and I had never tried doing it again since.
Once, somebody came out with some kind of fusion version – the bingka cheese…
*Archive photo*
…but I guess it did not go down too well with the general public so I have not seen that for a long time now.
I would not say that I had had really nice ones all this while so they were just one of those things that I might buy sometimes for a change. However, I came across this bingka labu (pumpkin)…
…that was simply out of this world, so very very nice. They must have added a lot of santan (coconut milk) so it is extra lemak (rich) and maybe, egg too so it is not hard or rubbery like the usual bingkas. I would say it is soft and wobbly like the green top of the serimuka, the really good ones, that is.
If you are in Sibu, you can get it in the morning at this stall (2.306488, 111.818695)…
*Screenshot from google maps, streetview*
…at the end of Jalan Kpg. Hilir, around Simpang Tiga where the SEDC hawker stalls and the MDS Supermarket are located. Everything here is homemade – the kampung folks will make them at home and deliver here for sale and if you are lucky, you may come across the out-of-this-world Haji-something pulut panggang or what we call Kate panggang. They’re RM1.10 each now – don’t bother about the rest available at RM1.00 each. Those are not worth the calories.
Back to the bingka labu, they are selling that at 3 pieces for RM1.00…
…but each is very much smaller than the regular ones. Perhaps they need to cover the cost of the extra ingredients that went into the making. If I am not wrong, they used to sell it in one big slice at RM1.00 each. Probably that gave the impression that it was kind of pricey so now they do cut it up into smaller bite-size slices.
Well, do drop by and check this place out. There will be an array of all kinds of kuihs and stuff you will not know where to begin…and do go early as usually, by mid-morning, there will not be much of anything left.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I don’t eat cake often but I do enjoy a nice piece every now and then.
These local cakes are more like what you would know as puddings. Great treats!
Thanks for the intro. I’m not really a big cake fan, but I do often wonder about all of the bite size treats that I see at the markets. I’d enjoy the denser versions.
I’m ok with cakes as long as they’re not too sweet and one of those rich wobbly cheesecakes and I’m all for these Malay/nyonya delights provided they are really good ones, very well made and they do not scrimp on the ingredients. Most here are not worth the calories, unfortunately. 😦
Generally I’m not a major fan of bingka (the taste and texture of the different varieties don’t really hit the spot for me), but it’s nice to read this and be reminded of this kuih and the times I ate it in its various forms while growing up (I think it’s been years since I had bingka). Maybe you can do more future posts spotlighting more types of kuih that you enjoy 🙂
I’m usually just ok with the ones we get here but this one is especially nice, worth blogging about. We do not get very nice kuihs here, unlike the really good ones I can find in Kuching, so that is why I do not bother to buy and eat, much less blog about them. 😦
Bingka bandong, very common. I used to make & added gula apong to it. Nowadays very hard to get bandong at the market. I prefer the yellow bandong to the white ones. Bingka labu looks nice. Over here, the kuih are mostly 50 sen per pc & above or 3 pcs for RM2. No more RM1 for 3 pcs.
I guess that is why they do not make the kuih anymore – so hard to come by and when we get to see any and we buy, it turns out to be not good, so disappointing. Bingka labu and pandan always available at the Malay stalls, not nice…just sweet, not lemak. This one, I like! Expensive, if very nice, I don’t mind. So often, I ended up just throwing them away, after one bite. 😦
Oh i think i like this! I like ubi kayu with santan, I’m not that sesat after all!
Not bad, not bad. There is still some hope yet. Muahahahaha!!!!!
Kuih bingka, or bingka ubi.. yummzz, is it “mok shi koh”? From the picture, it looks like “mok shi koh”.. Always bought from the malay stall, 3 for RM2.00.. Bingka jagung is nice too, with cream corn+custard, I’m not sure if it’s called bingka jagung.. Maybe pudding jagung?
Probably, I don’t know. Dunno Cantonese. Wowwww!!!! 3 for RM2.00, double the price here. Maybe bigger slices.
KL stuffs always more expensive one, even now keropok 5 for RM1 and mostly small small pieces one.
City mah!!! City people all very rich one. Hehehehehehe!!!!
What the…….??? You want me go take picture of those people who are very poor live in the freaking CITY, the house is without TV or telephone and sometimes without electricity because no money to pay one to show you argh??? Not everyone in the city is rich, come on…….
Hehehehehe!!!! Name got glamour mah, city – a class above town or pekan/bazaar. Squatters, rural migration – the problem is everywhere…even in our little town. The house owners have moved to nice new houses elsewhere and they rent their old broken down houses to people who have moved from the rural areas, over-crowded, not clean at all, not hygienic – those places. Some countries, they would just go and demolish and clean up the places – here, too many hands are tied. Sad.
Our state election is coming and someone is promising that Sibu will be a city – been talking about it for a long time now, and I certainly hope not. Cannot imagine everything getting more expensive, town upgraded, prices also follow. 😦
So many types of Kuih bingka?? Those that I had are closer to the pumpkin ones. The rest , never tried before.
Pumpkin and pandan, easily available at the Malay stalls here. Nice or not, that’s another story. Jagung, I saw that day but did not buy. Didn’t think I would like it.
Would you believe me that I had only taste this kuih bingka once?!! I am not so into those kuih and cakes. Hehe
Sigh!!! I wish we could change places – I live in Kuching and you in Sibu. Then I can get to enjoy all the nice nyonya kuihs there regularly for afternoon tea.
Bingka cheese, don’t think i came across this…
I just had it once – don’t think this is available anymore, maybe when Ramadhan comes around, perhaps. They come out with all kinds of things at the Ramadhan bazaar.
I need these with some black coffee!
Here, have a cuppa. Just had mine for afternoon tea – extra kao kao.
I like bingka labu!
I’m usually ok with what I used to get here but this one is particularly nice.
I love bingka! Especially Bingka Ubi. But must know where to get the good ones or else would end up eating more flour than tapioca.
Yes, if not enough santan or egg and all flour, it will not be nice.
Bingka labu… is it something like our tapioca over here? I love all of the above, after seeing these, I feel like going out now to get some pieces of nyonya kueh!
That’s bingka ubi or what we call bingka bandong – can’t get that here but labu (pumpkin) is nice too…if they do not scrimp on the ingredients, that is.
Have tried to make this via a Filipino recipe and turned out well. Just can’t make it whenever as I have this weakness of eating everything the minute it comes out of the oven!
Same thing happened to me, was not successful…and I’ve never bothered to try again.
Nice! I’m a huge fan of the pumpkin ones, it’s actually getting rarer nowadays.
Bingka ubi still a lot going around though. I’ve never had the cheese fusion one too, looks promising!
The opposite here. Lots of the pumpkin ones but these are the nicest, nicer than the rest. Can’t find the ubi ones anymore…and in fact, quite hard to get tapioca around here these days, dunno why. I see the plants growing everywhere – love the leaves!