The Making of Bun Chien Kueh

A pancake, with either thick or thin dough, crunchy and usually garnished with peanuts and sugary stuff - an ideal opener for the palate at teatime or even for breakfast. The bun chien kueh, or wrapped fried cake, originated from southern China and has cousins of sorts from Japan to Indonesia. Shown here is the version most often available in the food courts and streets of towns in both Malaysia and Singapore.

The process starts with mixing, pouring and monitoring on a sufficiently hot plate.

The freshly made wrap (above) is gingerly taken from the cooker to be sprinkled with ingredients of your choice (below).

Peanut granules are spread carefully over actual white sugar on top of the inside of the pancake.

Next to ready, the bun chien kueh is then folded like an envelope (above) and then cut into slices (below).