Goldhill Hakka Restaurant (1997) : decades old Hakka Yong Tau Foo

This is a humble Hakka restaurant located along Changi Road for 22 years. Steven Lee, the owner, started helping his father at about 8 years old on a trishaw in Katong. He eventually moved into the shop and named it Goldhill, which means Jin Shan (金山), this is none other than his Chinese name. He has been making Yong Tau Foo for more than 40 years and Wen Long, his son, has started helping out but not too sure whether is he in the process of taking over the business.

Their signature is Hakka style Yong Tau Foo that consists of a limited selection of just 7 items. These 7 items are Tau Hu, Square Tau Pok, Triangular Tau Pok, Fishball, Tau Gi, Better Gourd and Chilli that are stuffed with fish paste. There is the selection small portion at $6 (10 pieces), the medium portion is available at $8 (15 pieces) and the large portion at $12 (20 pieces). There are also Yam Abacus Seeds ($4, $6 and $8), Steamed Lala Venus Clams ($12/$24), Vegetables with Oyster Sauce ($6/$12) and Steamed Fish at market value. There are only a total of 6 items on their menu.

I was there on a Public Holiday, the restaurant was almost full and there were still customers kept coming in, most of these customers are regulars and they came as a family. Wen Long was at the counter and he signaled to me when I was wondering how should I order so I walked towards the counter. I said, "This is my first visit." He pointed to the menu and said, "This is what we have. We do not serve rice and noodle." I replied, "There are two of us." He said, "You can order the individual set of Yong Tau Foo or a medium set to share." I ordered the medium portion of Yong Tau Foo and a small serving of Yam Abacus Seeds. He recommended to try the Steamed Lala but I did not order. 

The Yam Abacus Seeds is also one of the must order items, it is the Hakka version of Yam Cake. It is still made using the traditional laborious method and more yam than rice flour is added for a firmer yet softer texture. It is served with a concoction of dried shrimp, shredded cuttlefish, and minced salted fish then garnished with chopped spring onion, which is different from the others.

Those pieces of handmade Yong Tau Foo were stuffed with fish paste, the fish paste is freshly made using fish, a little flour and other ingredients based on the recipe passed down by his father. My dining companion said, "Every piece is so fresh but it is a bit plain if you do not eat it with the sweet sauce and chilli." 

It was steamed then served with just a drizzle of sesame oil and garnished with coriander, served together with the sweet sauce and chilli for dipping. The texture of the fish paste was quite firm. The soup that served along was lightly flavored with a slight hint of ikan belis. 

Payment is made at the counter after done eating. Wen Long saw me taking pictures of the menu. He said, "Like our FB page, the menu is there."

GOLDHILL HAKKA RESTAURANT (1997)

299A Changi Road SINGAPORE 419777

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Meixi's Kitchen : Hakka Yong Tau Fu

This is a new stall opened in the recently renovated coffee shop just beside the food centre, serving handmade Hakka Yong Tau Fu. 

The standard order is 6 items with noodle or rice at $4.20 and at $5.00 if go with the laksa gravy. They will deep-fry the items again and serve it on a separate bowl if you order the soup and laksa version. The handmade items tasted relatively fresh and my all time favorite has to be the stuffed brinjal, meatball, ngor hiang and stuffed tofu. 

The condiments are available at the counter for self-service. There is also a pot of soya beans for you to add into your soup. 

This brand has been around since 1986 and they have a few outlets islandwide.

MEIXI'S KITCHEN

Block 630 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-972 SINGAPORE 560630
Operating Hours: 7.45 am to 9.00 pm (Daily)

Ah Lock 豆腐店 at Yishun Park Hawker Centre : Hakka Tofu Bowl

Lee Lock Teng, 24, an undergraduate of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in National of University (NTU), he decided to take a semester break of 6 months to operate this hawker stall, an "incubator stall" in the recently opened Yishun Park Hawker Centre under the Timbre Group. Under this scheme, the hawkers just need to pay for the rental and utility fees, excluding the costs of pest control, dishwashing, and other costs. This is to allow the first-time hawkers to take up a stall for a year with kitchen equipment sponsored and some operational charges waived. They will also receive mentorship from Tommy Teo, the head chef of Timbre Group.

He started this stall to fund his university education as he has run out of savings to pay for his school fees after the first year.  He came from a family of five and their total income is just enough to support the daily expenses. His mother, 47, is a housewife and his father, 51, is a technician. He has eaten his mother's Thunder Tea Rice and his grandmother's Hakka Yong Tau Foo since young. He started helping his mother to prepare meals since his primary school days. He picked up the kitchen skills and eventually learned to cook these dishes by himself. He cooked these dishes for friends that he met and also for those that offered accommodation to him when he went traveling for 5 months. 

His stall is serving Hakka Yong Tau Foo using the family decades' old recipes that passed down from his mother and grandmother. He twisted the recipe a little, he is serving Hakka Yong Tau Foo and Thunder Tea Rice in the concept of Japanese donburi (rice bowl). He wants to present the "old-fashioned" Hakka food in a modern way to create awareness amongst the young people. It takes about 5 to 7 hours each day in cutting and scooping out the tofu then stuffing it, it has to be done carefully to prevent the tofu from falling apart. 

Hakka Tofu Rice Bowl ($5.50) is one of their signature dishes, it is a combination of the traditional Hakka Yong Tau Foo and Thunder Tea Rice, presenting in the form of Japanese donburi. It consists of Japanese rice and topped with ingredients like deep-fried tofu and tau pok that stuffed with minced pork belly with meatballs, chopped long beans, and shredded seaweed. And, right at the centre, it is a pile of tofu cubes with sambal mayonnaise and garnished with Alfalfa sprouts. Their other signature dish is Hakka Meatball bowl ($4.50), it consists of 3 pieces of meatballs and tofu puffs on a bed of rice. 

The chili that came along was quite different from those that usually along with the Hakka Yong Tau Foo, the level of spiciness was rather mild with a slightly sweet undertone but went well with those pieces of Yong Tau Foo. 

His elder brother, Lock Phon, 25, will helm the stall after 6 months when he starts to attend classes. He is determined to strike a balance between school work and cooking.They will continue running this stall if the response is good. He will also convert to taking part-time night classes at NTU and he intends to give himself about 4 to 5 years to complete the course.

If i do go back, I will go for their Tofu Rice Bowl again and will add $1 for extra meatballs. 

AH LOCK 豆腐店

51 Yishun Avenue 11 #01-08 Yishun Park Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 768867

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 2.00 pm / 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Wednesdays)

Kar Soh Wanton Noodle : Handmade Hakka Noodle

There was a short queue of a few people when I came here for lunch on a rainy Wednesday. It is a coffee shop at the block just opposite Toa Payoh Vista Food Centre. I was looking for the stall serving Hakka Noodle as posted by a friend on Facebook. There are 2 stalls under the same name and manned by an elderly Auntie all by herself. One of the stalls is serving Hakka Yong Tau Fu, the Yong Tau Fu set is at $3.00 which consists of 5 pieces of Yong Tau Fu items with noodles and every additional piece is priced at 0.50 cents, there is a choice of dry or soup version with an option for Curry Laksa Yong Tau Fu at $3.50.  The other stall is serving Wanton Noodle ($2.50/$3), Ipoh Hor Fun ($2.50/$3), Homemade Hakka Noodle ($3), Century Egg Porridge ($2.50), Shredded Chicken Porridge ($2.50) and Lean Meat Cuttlefish Porridge ($2.50). 

The queue was at the Yong Tau Fu stall and I did not know whether I should join in so I just stood there and waited. The Auntie spotted me and she asked, "What do you want, Miss?". I pointed at the Hakka Noodle on the picture and said, "Hakka Noodle." She did not ask me whether I want the dry or soup version. The picture showed the soup version but I remember seeing the picture posted by my friend was the dry one. I just stood there and waited. The other 2 customers have collected their orders then the Auntie placed a bowl of soup noodle on the tray and called out to me, "Miss, your order is ready."

I collected it and went to one of the tables along the walkway and seated down. It was raining rather heavily at that time so the soup Hakka Noodle is a better option. It consists of a good portion of noodles with ingredients like fried beancurd, skin, handmade meatballs and meat wantons. The noodles were nicely cooked and served with a lightly flavoured hot soup. 

It was a comforting choice and I would definitely go back for their dry one soon. This stall might be moving to the Toa Payoh Vista Food Centre and is in the midst of getting the approval, it is likely to happen in May or early June. 

KAR SOH WANTON NOODLE . PORRIDGE

Block 66 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 Yong Liang Food Centre SINGAPORE 310066

Operating Hours: 6.00 am to 2.30 pm (Daily) (Closed on last Wednesday of every month)

The Hakka Yong Tau Fu Stall : handmade based on a home recipe

This stall has been around for the longest time and is one of the popular stalls in this food centre, serving traditional Hakka style Yong Tau Fu using a home recipe. I used to visit this stall quite often when working and staying near here. The queue is usually quite long during lunch as well as weekends and they usually sold out before 1.30 pm. Some of the items were already gone when I was there at 12.30 pm and it only left a few choices when I went back later to take away. 

You are expected to choose your items first before joining the queue. When it is your turn, you handed the bowl to that assistant and telling her your preferences. You will be given a number and you are expected to hang around the area to wait for that number to be called in about 15 minutes or so.

Most of the items like egg, pig's intestine, brinjal, beancurd, fishball, yam and others are freshly fried to give it a slight crisp. Each item is freshly made and is stuffed with minced meat or fish paste. Some of the unique items that you should try are the fried pig's small intestine, fried tau pok with minced meat, lotus root with fish paste and fried meat roll, these are my usual favourites. Each of this handmade item is reasonably priced at 0.60 cents and it is served along with a bowl of lightly flavoured soup if you have it dry. There are bits of nicely fried garlic added to the soup for that extra flavour. You could choose to have it with bee hoon or rice for 0.50 cents. It is served separately on a plate then garnished with chopped coriander and white pepper to serve. 

THE HAKKA YONG TAU FU STALL

Block 20 Ghim Moh Road #01-25 Ghim Moh Food Centre SINGAPORE 270020

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 2.00 pm (Daily)

928 Ngee Fou Restaurant (Hakka) Ampang Yong Tou Fu

We were there at about 8 pm, close to their closing time. They dimmed their signboard and it didn't left much food at their counter. I thought they must have already sold out but still approached the lady and asked, there were still some left for 2 people though some items were not available. We asked for a mixture of everything that they left with 2 bowls of rice. 

It came quite quickly, the items include kang kong, fishball, fried dumplings, dried beancurd skin, squid eggs brinjal and bitter gourd stuffed with fish paste served in a pool of sauce. Nothing fanciful but pure comforting. 

My favourite item has to be brinja stuffed with fish paste. It tasted fresh, went well with rice, with or without the sweet sauce.

This is worth a try, if you happen to be in the vicinity.

928 NGEE FOU RESTAURANT (HAKKA) AMPANG YONG TOU FOU

928 Upper Thomson Road SINGAPORE 787121

Hakka Delights

I happened to sit at a table directly facing this stall and i observed that this stall seems to have a constant flow of regular customers. This stall offers different types of Hakka dishes and i suspected might be of certain standard as that was probably the reason behind the lunch crowd patronising this stall.

Though the elderly Auntie was rather efficient in taking the orders but she did not seem too friendly. I wanted to take away their signature Hakka Yong Tau Foo but was told it has already been sold out. I overhead earlier that their chicken dishes have been sold out too. I decided to take away the Stewed Preserved Vegetable with Pok Belly, Stir-fried Sliced Beef with Bitter Gourds and Meatballs with Pineapple for $10.50.

These are some of the dishes that they served it with rice and soup as a set meal from $3.50 to $4.50.

I waited for about 15 minutes as there were other orders in front of me. I asked for the smallest portion for all the dishes and requested to have it packed in plastic bags to avoid paying the 0.20 cents chargeable per container.

It tasted alright though not as nice as compared to the one served by a stall that specialized for different types of Steamed Rice and Soup in Yishun. The taste of preserved vegetable was a bit overpowering which i did not like. There were only about 4 slices of thinly sliced braised pork belly in it.

Though never a fan of bitter gourds but still went ahead to order this dish. The bitter gourds did not taste as bitter as anticipated. It was sliced thinly to stir-fry with sliced beef. The texture of the sliced beef was slightly harder and a little more chewier. A rather comforting home cooked dish to go well with the rice nonetheless.

This was an appetizing dish. The meatballs were prepared by shaping minced meat into many of those. The meatballs were deep-fried before stir-fried with bits of pineapple and tomato based sauce to give it its desired taste. The amount of meatballs given for this dish was pretty generous. The sauce tasted a bit like those for sweet & sour pork but not as sweet.

An interesting find but i am not a Hakka so not able to determine the level of authenticity of all these dishes.

MEI YUAN HAKKA DELIGHTS

531A Upper Cross Street #02-29 Hong Lim Food Centre SINGAPORE 051531.