Yearning for Yong Tau Foo

“Lao Huang Hakka Niang Dou Fu” is one of the tastiest “yong tau fu” stalls in Singapore in my opinion. I have been visiting it for years, sometimes at least once every week over a period of time.
Located at stall #01-108 inside North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre, this is a family-run gig. At any one time, dad can be spotted busily stuffing the “yong tau fu” ingredients while mum does the cooking and the daughter manages the orders.
Speaking of orders, we paid $15.30 for ours today but I am perfectly happy to do that as their food is very tasty and “yong tau fu” is undeniably labour-intensive, more so with different types of filling - 4 versions in total to be specific: boiled fish paste, fried fish paste, boiled minced meat and fried mince meat.
The highlight for me however, has to be the special minced meat they scoop on your order of noodles or rice. It is so appetising I could eat that on my own.
They start operations in the morning and tend to sell out by early afternoon so go early for greater variety.
One important thing to note is the stall is closed 3 days a week - every Monday, Thursday and Friday. So please remember to avoid those days if you don’t want to make a wasted trip.

Post renovation, the Rasapura Masters food court at MBS has not only a few new stalls in their line-up but it seems like the existing ones have taken the opportunity to tweak their offerings as well.
The popular “yong tau fu” stall which is situated at the same spot as before, now looks a lot smaller (it use to have quite a wide frontage). I feel that the variety of ingredients has shrunk a bit too but is still decent. What’s interesting is they now offer “Ma La” soup as an option (and before you ask, they don’t do a dry version of it unfortunately). I decided to give it a try and found it alright. As expected, it was a little oily and salty but not too spicy (lying somewhere between 小辣 and 中辣). After all, it is a soup and needs to be drinkable. However, if you react easily to the heat of chillies, try to avoid inhaling sharply or talking too much when sipping. The oil of the “Ma La” might trigger a coughing fit.

Even during off-peak hours, “My Favourite Cafe” on level 6 of Lucky Plaza has people flocking there for their “yong tau fu”. Based on my observation, many of them are foreigners too. I guess the reputation of this eatery has spread far and wide.
The team operates like a well-oiled machine which is great because waiting time is minimised even when the place is crowded.
For those new to #yongtaufu, this is how it works. Once you’ve used the tongs provided to pick the fish paste-stuffed ingredients and other items you like (don’t forget their signature fat, juicy Korean mushrooms and fried meatballs), inform the staff if you want noodles and/or leafy vegetables to be added, as well as your preference for “dry” or “soup”. In the case of the former, ”My Favourite Cafe” differs from others as they only add a dash of garlic oil and a shower of sesame seeds. It is up to you to decide if you want to dress things up further with the maroon-coloured sweet sauce or the orange-hued chilli one. These are provided in plastic tubs on a stand in the middle of the venue. I personally opt for just the chilli.
FYI - they have a second outlet on the second floor of Bugis Cube as well.

Popular with the elderly residents in the area, "Special Yong Tau Fu" offers a rather modest selection of items compared to most stalls. However, the main reason why I like it is because they offer less common ingredients like slabs of boiled pork belly, blanched flimsy sheets of "kiam chye" and pig intestine. These tend to run out quickly though because everyone else seems to zero in on them too. For greens, you can choose either "kangkong" or "chye sim" (I tend to go for the latter). My preference is to have their "yong tau fu" with rice. I also like that they top off every bowl with coriander and fried shallot oil. But for those of you who aren't a fan of such garnishes, you'll be happy to know the lady who receives and processes every order, always checks first if you want them. Yup, service here is to be admired as well, both for speed and the attention to detail.
You can find "Special Yong Tau Fu" at #01-87 inside North Bridge Road Hawker Centre. They are open for breakfast in the mornings.

Hands up all "kiasu" Singaporeans who can't resist joining a long queue in front of a hawker stall. Don't be shy lah... I am sure there are quite a few of you out there who are just like me. 😁
Anyway, my ten minutes spent in the queue at stall no. #01-58 reaped me some gratifying tastiness. This 3-week-old stall sells handmade "yong tau fu" that's limited to about 5 types - all of them variations of soya beancurd stuffed with a soft paste that's more fish than pork. Customers can choose to have their order served dry, in clear soup or curry, and accompanied by rice or noodles (yellow mee, thick and thin "bee hoon"). The clear soup version was nice enough but I preferred the curry as I was in the mood for something flavourful today. And that thick, spicy richness hit the sweet spot well.

After you select the pieces of "yong tau foo", the hawker gives them a quick deep-fry for a yummy crunchy coating. The "chee cheong fun" that's kept piping hot in a large steamer is then taken out, cut into bite-sized portions and transferred to a plate. I was seriously enamoured with its silky smoothness. It's good enough to rival my favourite at Hong Lim Hawker Centre.
The stall has set meals too for ease of ordering. I noticed quite a few customers loading up on their yam cake and "zhang" (glutinous rice dumplings). I am definitely considering to give those a try the next time.
"Yummy" is located at unit #01-77 of Blk 216 Bedok North Hawker Centre. It's quite easy to spot as the stall has a modern-looking wooden signboard

I have heard many good things about the famous Yong Tau Fu at Lucky Plaza but never got around to trying it till today when I realised they have a second outlet at Bugis Cube. Can't believe it took me this long to learn about their existence here since they have been open since the beginning of this year 😱 Then again, their unit #02-10 is not visible from the street. You need to take the escalator up one floor and look for the "Favourite Cafe" sign which is the name of their shop.
With regards to the taste, I am pleased to report that my expectations were met. They offer a reasonably good variety of YTF items to choose from, especially for the leafy vegetables. Every item I had in my $6.50 bowl was very fresh, with the standout being the large Korean mushrooms. The fried meatball here is also reputed to be superb but I wasn't in the mood for that. It's obvious the owners pride themselves on the details because their medium-hot sambal belachan-style chilli and fried shallots are made in-house. In my opinion, the latter goes a long way in boosting sweetness as compared to the ready-made kind.
Last but not least, who doesn't appreciate eating in air-conditioned comfort? 😄

This famous stall is known for the freshness of their "yong tau fu" and wonderfully sweet soup. If you like soya beans like me, you can ask for more to be added and they won't hesitate to scoop a heaping spoon of it into your bowl of soup or noodles. A generous pile of crispy "ikan bilis" is always added on top of each order too, but only if you want it (they always check first). Which brings me to the icing on the cake about this stall. It is their genuinely warm and friendly service that makes them a true winner in my eyes and it's probably why you always see so many smiling customers here.

When hunting for this stall (unit #01-58), look out for the queue of customers because it's practically a permanent feature. There is only one type of order available here: a beehoon soup with a fixed combination of "yong tau fu" pieces (although they will check if you eat bitter gourd or not). And nope, you can't have a dry version. Despite all these "terms and conditions", I enjoyed it very much because everything tastes so fresh! 😋 Aside from the yummy springy prawn balls, it was a tasty combination of fish with pork that formed the meat patty and the stuffing for the beancurd skin rolls and bittergourd. I slurped up every drop of their soup - so clear and sweet it was. The plentiful minutely-chopped spring onions floating in it made it even tastier. If you're feeling hungry, you can ask to add beehoon for free. But if you want extra sauce, you need to pay 30cents for a saucer of it. I didn't mind doing that as I liked their spicy chilli a lot.
百年 is open Monday to Saturday, from around 7am till 9pm. Closed on Sundays.

Here is a stall run by yet another elderly couple. They offer a pretty good selection of YTF stuffed with either plain fish paste, fish paste with mixed vegetables, or minced pork. Apart from the standard chilli and sweet sauces, customers can also choose to have black sauce drizzled on top.
This is a good spot for breakfast if you fancy a healthy start to your day as they are open in the morning.

If the filling is the main reason you eat "yong tau fu", then you should not miss this stall. They have 2 types of filling which they stuff various vegetables and tofu by hand. Then via two cooking methods, that becomes 4 in total. They are: boiled fish paste, fried fish paste, boiled minced meat and fried mince meat. All are good. What's more, they have this special minced meat mixture that they top your noodles (or rice) with that is so yummy I could eat that on my own. The two available chilli sauces allow for even more taste variations when you eat. How awesome is that!

A long-time favourite of many, this stall dishes out steaming bowls of traditional Yong Tau Fu that's made with fresh yellowtail fish. Their choices are not as extensive as other places but sometimes, simple is best.