Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo: Worth The Wait

Studying makes you hungry. After hitting the books with my cousin at the library earlier on, and it was decided that we'll go to the nearby Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 Food Centre to have lunch. We did go but the original plan for me was to try the duck porridge there.

The duck porridge was always sold out or the stall was closed on the particular day I went, thus I never had the chance to try it yet. Today, was just one of those days unfortunately. Oh, wait, or was it a blessing in disguise? As a result, I chanced upon the perpetual long line of queue outside Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo stall.

Recalling my sister telling me that there was a Yong Tau Foo stall that was recommended by Dr Leslie Tay and we seem to have tried the wrong one the other time, so my mind pieced the partial memories together and there I was, plonked myself into the queue. Now, if only my mind could create links as fast as that during study time and yes this is the right stall that Dr Leslie Tay recommends. Happy as a bird was I, snapping a few pictures of the stall name, till I finally saw it.

Saw what, you may ask. I saw that customers were supposed to choose their items and placed their order before queueing up! Yup, that's how they operate here. You queue up AFTER you have placed your order. Don't make the mistake that I've made and waste 15mins of your life queueing up for nothing.



Coming back to the bowl of yong tau foo, it was deliciously satisfying. This bowl of dried vermicelli, served along with your picked items, topped with sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds justified the long wait and seemingly endless queue. It was that good.

The ingredients were fresh, the fried items were delicious, noting in particular some kind of fried flour ball they have and their fried meatball (the second picture). The meatball was chewy, juicy and flavourful - all the characteristics of an outstanding meatball. The vermicelli they used were a little different, a little flatter and thicker than the usual ones. The sweet sauce balanced out nicely on the palate, not too sweet. The small bowl of soup that comes along will help to cleanse your palate if the sweet sauce is too cloying for you after awhile. Overall, a great bowl of yong tau foo. I would certainly revisit this stall!

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo
Ang Mo Kio Blk 724
#01-23
Open from 7am to 7pm daily
Sunday closed
96353203

Ampang Yong Tau Foo - A different kind of flavour altogether.

Eating Ampang Yong Tau Foo reminds me of eating Ngoh Hiang or Wu Xiang as they call it in mandarin. You get to select your own ingredients, then its re-fried and served. Only this time with the yong tau foo, its generously drenched with a starchy sauce and served with their special sauce.

Ampang Yong Tau Foo is much raved about, but it failed to impress me. I've tasted it twice, yet I still feel that its not nice. Maybe I prefer the normal yong tau foo that we are familiar with, the not all fried ingredients and soupy kind.



The plate of yong tau foo was for sharing that night, and so I had a kway chap store found there. I didn't see any store name, so I presume its owned under the same family? Maybe not, but the bowl of kway was pretty good. It was served with a herbal soup base, unlike the ones that I've eaten so far - served with braised sauce.



The pig innards, tau pok, lor bak, braised egg and tau kwa were okay. Decent but nothing there left an impression on me.

'In Malaysia, the Ampang region of Kuala Lumpur is particularly famous for this dish.' (source from Wiki)I wouldn't discount the original Ampang Yong Tau Foo to be bad just because I don't like the one in Singapore. Will definitely head there to try the original version of it if I ever have the chance.

So, do you prefer the usual, more familiar, ubiquitous yong tau foo we all know? Or do you like this Ampang yong tau foo more?

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu - The Noodles Stole The Limelight!

It was Chinatown Complex Food Centre for breakfast again. This time round, I managed to try the Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu stall that was closed the other time I was there.

Before I begin this review/write up, I must confess that the quality of the previous few posts were lacking. Lacking in terms of the heart and soul of a true foodie and it was evident in my reluctance to update my blog as frequently as I did before.

I was losing the heart to update this blog, its not easy but the passion for cooking and the love of food was the reason I started this blog and still is the driving force behind all the food photos and posts. I was getting too concerned about this blog's traffic and envying other bloggers' invite, etc. It removed the fun and simple motive for blogging : to let others know where good food are available at. But I have since sorted out my thoughts and shall keep at blogging because I know someone out there might just be having a headache over his/her meal and I could be of great help. (:

So there you have it, my confession of a foodie. Now, back to our review.

It was quite a long wait before I finally got my bowl of dry kway teow and 7 pieces of yong tau foo as a queue was already formed when I got there. The queue was seemingly endless with patrons replacing each other as one left, another came.

Oh, and the photos are still not up to standard yet becuase I'm still learning how to use my compact camera, dreams of getting a DSLR!

There's only a choice between 7 pieces of yong tau foo with bee hoon/noodles or 9 pieces of yong tau foo for $3. You can't choose your yau tau foo items at this stall, its all fixed and if you add any additional items, there will be a charge.

The yong tau foo items are handmade everyday and it is very evident as they have 2 stalls next to each other with one side preparing the items and the other cooking and serving them.

The noodles, or kway teow in this case, stole the limelight, surprisingly. The noodles are served with onion oil and fried ikan bilis. These two items greatly enhanced the flavorless noodles into something delightful and flavorsome. I'm pretty sure I could take 2 bowls of it if I knew it was so good!



The yong tau foo was okay, the handmade items did not stand out like I thought they would though I must commend the soup for being nice, light and flavorsome.

Overall, I think it would be great if they would improve on their yong tau foo items but definitely, keep serving that bowl of dried noodles!

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu

Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-87/88 Chinatown Complex Food Centre
Singapore
Opening Hours: Daily 5.45am – 3pm