Of all the iconic hawker food in Singapore, I find that Singaporeans identify most strongly with dishes such as chicken rice, char kway teow, hokkien mee and the likes. But we don’t often hear people raving about yong tau foo, even though they’re available at almost all hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts.
Traditionally a Hakka Chinese dish, their versions of yong tau foo are made with tofu cubes stuffed with minced pork or fish paste with herbs, then deep fried and served with bean gravy. Today, yong tau foo is a dish that can be ordered with soup, dry, or with a curry or laksa gravy, and the variety of food items picked out by the customer contributes to the flavour of the dish. You can also choose to have it with rice or noodles (yellow noodles, vermicelli or kway teow etc.)
Without further ado, here are 10 must-try yong tau foo stalls in Singapore!
Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo
Don’t expect a wide selection of ingredients here. Unlike most other YTF stalls where you can pick your ingredients, the standard yong tau foo ($4 - $5) here comes with more or less fixed choices such as tau kee, bitter gourd, minced shrimp balls, mushroom-minced meatball and more. Their broth is also light, clean-tasting and flavourful. There’s good reason why they're currently #1 on our Best Yong Tau Foo in Singapore list! Vote and let us know if you agree.
Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo
Ask anyone who grew up in Ang Mo Kio and they’re sure to know about this yong tau foo stall that seems to always have a queue. Xi Xiang Feng’s broth is one of the best you can find in Singapore, thanks to the generous amount of soy beans and ikan bilis used. Go ahead and slurp it all up because they don’t use any MSG! There are also close to 40 food items that you can choose from, so the combinations are endless.
Goldhill Hakka Restaurant
Goldhill Hakka Restaurant is a small restaurant with a long history, and it is now in the hands of their second generation owner, who has been spearheading the store at the current premise since 1971. The signature dish on the menu is none other than yong tau foo, where the ingredients are all traditional Hakka-style. The entire dish has an authentic, old school feel to it, which is hard to find these days at common eateries.
Yong Xiang Xing Dou Fu
You’ll find a couple of YTF stalls at People’s Park Food Complex, but Yong Xiang Xing Dou Fu is the one that draws the longest queue. They only serve one item on their menu, and it gets sold out so fast, they’re only open for three hours a day! Their Yong Tau Foo with Soup ($4.50) comes without any heavy carbs like noodles or bee hoon, which is a great option for those who are on a low-fat, low-carb or low-cal diet.
Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu
This old school YTF joint has been operating since 1989, and they are pretty well-known for their homemade fishballs and comforting bowls of soup. It used to be just a stall, but now they have expanded to take over the entire coffeeshop. The options here are simple – only 4 choices to choose from, bee hoon in soup or dry, or ingredients only in soup or dry.
Fu Lin Bar & Kitchen
Fu Lin's yong tau foo deviates from the norm. They're known for their dried yong tau foo that's generously blanketed in a gooey, brown minced chicken and mushroom gravy made from a secret recipe. All their food items are also deep fried and pair fantastically with the sauce. If you want something healthy, this is definitely not the stall to go to. But if you're bored of the normal YTF, Fu Lin’s guarantees you a meal that’s different in all the best ways.
Da Jie Niang Dou Fu
Da Jie Niang Dou Fu is a halal-certified stall that serves a total of six different types of yong tau foo! They're the traditional Hakka style, tom yam, laksa, Ampang or the simpler black bean and tomato ketchup. So, you can always make your choice according to your mood, and you won't go bored even if you eat here for an entire week!
109 Yong Tau Foo
109 Yong Tau Foo serves Ampang-style yong tau foo with a wide selection of ingredients. The fried items are refried before serving, and you can also request for certain boiled items to be fried. If you opt for the dry version, the YTF here is drenched in a thick savoury gravy with minced meat. Conventional soup and laksa gravy are also available.
Poy Kee Yong Tau Foo
Poy Kee is the other popular yong tau foo stall at People’s Park Complex Food Centre. Most people come here to get a satisfying serving of YTF without standing in an overly long line like Yong Xiang Xing's. Also, Poy Kee also offers noodle choices of mee kia or mee pok, which not many other YTF stalls offer, and their springy fishballs are some of the best in Singapore!
Golden Mile Special Yong Tau Foo
With a long history of establishment, Golden Mile Special Yong Tau Foo has been serving generations of loyal senior customers. Nonetheless, their authentic Teochew fish-based yong tau foo recipe has a unique flavour that also appeals to younger folks. They don't have a myriad of ingredients to choose from, but whatever's available is made with homemade ingredients and comforting, homely flavours.
