Katong Yong Tau Foo: Comforting & Cheap Yong Tau Foo From S$4.20 With Real Laksa Gravy At Katong Shopping Centre

All my colleagues know I love yong tau foo. It’s perfect for any occasion — comforting soup on rainy days, laksa on days I’m craving something rich and spicy, or the dry version for any other day or mood.

I’m going to share one of my best kept yong tau foo secrets with you: Katong Yong Tau Foo. It’s a quiet little stall, tucked away in the corner of Katong Shopping Centre‘s basement food court (yes, the one with the legendary Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice).

And it sells the most mindblowing and authentic laksa gravy I’ve ever had!

Though it might look tiny, squished in a corner and sharing the stall with a rojak uncle, the stall owners have improvised to maximise the stall’s space.

You’ll find bowls of varying sizes on the left, so no more squeezing 11 or 12 ingredients into a tiny bowl. Right next to the bowls are piles of neat vegetables, such as kang kong, kai lan, bok choy and more.

The prices are reasonably affordable too. A minimum of seven pieces cost S$4.20, not including your choice of carbs and soup.

Katong Shopping Centre’s basement food court should be familiar to foodies because of the famed Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice, which always has a long queue no matter the day or time.

Though it has plenty of seats, some of which extend to the corridor outside the coffee shop during peak hours or weekends, it can get filled up pretty fast, so be sure to chope a seat quick!

I was pretty impressed just by looking at the available ingredients.

Apart from the regular yong tau foo offerings, I saw other unique ingredients like tomatoes stuffed with fish paste, handmade dumplings, boiled yam cubes, beancurd skins stuffed with handmade fish paste and carrot cubes, and more.

It even had a large array of fried offerings, like hashbrowns, fried fish cakes, deep-fried meatballs, fried ngoh hiang, deep-fried eggs, deep-fried beancurd skin, and more.

What I immediately spotted was what looked like kakiage, a type of tempura that uses thinly sliced vegetables. This was the first time I saw this ingredient at a yong tau foo stall — how unique!

To my delight, I also spotted you tiao. I immediately grabbed a large stick, knowing how good it’d taste once it had soaked up all the laksa gravy. I think that’s also when my mouth started watering. Mmmm!

Our bowl of Laksa Yong Tau Foo consisted of 12 ingredients, noodles and laksa gravy, and cost S$7.30. Pretty darn cheap if you ask me!

It also came topped with actual laksa leaves, as well as a spoonful of chilli paste.

I asked for bee hoon mee, which is rice vermicelli and yellow noodles. I found more rice vermicelli than yellow noodles, but I wasn’t complaining. I knew bee hoon would absorb the laksa gravy really well, making each mouthful super indulgent.

The first thing I tried was the laksa gravy, and I was really blown away by how authentic the laksa gravy was. It was rich, savoury and creamy, and I could taste the fragrant coconut milk. The addition of laksa leaves added a distinct earthy and nutty aftertaste.

Texture-wise, it was a tad bit gritty from the dried shrimps, herbs and chilli. It actually reminded me of 328 Katong Laksa — not too watery, full-bodied, a tad sweet, aromatic, and deliciously spicy.

The main reason why I was so impressed with the authentic laksa gravy is because I know most yong tau foo stalls tend to use ready-made laksa paste or pass its curry gravy off as laksa. I was really surprised that this quaint little yong tau foo stall served up authentic laksa gravy.

As expected, the fried you tiao absorbed the laksa gravy really well. I’m usually not a fan of soggy fried food, but this was definitely an exception I was willing to make.

The you tiao still had a slight crunch when I bit into them, and the glorious laksa gravy oozed out just like how tau pok absorbs liquid like a sponge. Super indulgent, delicious and sinful!

The other must-buy ingredient was the kakiage, which came in generous large chunks. I absolutely loved how it fell apart into bite-sized pieces the minute it started to soak up all that umami laksa gravy.

As a comparison, I also got the soup version with eight ingredients and rice, which cost S$4.80.

The soup was amazingly sweet, full-bodied and clean. I guessed that the stall used ikan bilis and vegetables to boil its stock rather than yellow mung beans or soy beans because it didn’t have that characteristic acidity or astringency.

Drinking the soup also didn’t leave me with a dry mouth, which is a definite sign that the stall owners used little to no MSG in its soup base.

Apart from the regular yong tau foo ingredients, you should definitely get the stuffed pork meatballs. It’s filled with minced pork and mushrooms, which were juicy and springy.

There are plenty of yong tau foo stalls out there, but the one at Katong Shopping Centre’s basement is a real gem. Not only is it cheap, but there’s also so many different ingredients to choose from.

After trying close to 20 ingredients from Katong Yong Tau Foo, I didn’t find a single problem with any of them — they were all fresh, generously-sized or stuffed, and really yummy.

Next time I’m back at Katong Shopping Centre, it won’t be for the chicken rice for sure.

Expected Damage: S$4.20 – S$7.50 per pax