Beloved ’80s vegetarian stall’s hawker passes away, stall reopens after temporary closure

It’s no wonder the skies have been crying lately. Mdm Cho Tai Ho, the hawker lady behind Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian in Redhill passed away on 14 Apr. The stall was closed from 17 to 21 Apr, and will reopen on 22 Apr. 

Mdm Cho’s unfortunate passing was first announced on Ruyi Yuan’s official Instagram account on 15 Apr with a notice of the Redhill stall’s temporary break in operations. Her family often described her as “lovable”, a “cutie” and “beloved” in their social media posts, and she was always pictured with a cheerful smile on her face.

Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian is reported to have opened in Redhill in 1983 and is now a third-generation hawker stall specialising in vegetarian economic bee hoon. It has only one other outlet (at Ang Mo Kio), though it’s sometimes mistaken for Ru Yi Yuan at Bukit Batok despite being a separate business.

Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian’s main Redhill outlet is the more popular one, which sees long lines of customers daily. Each plate or packet costs S$4, while add-on ingredients and extra bee hoon, mee or hor fun are S$0.50 each. 

Its mock meat options include meatless dumplings, goose neck, char siew, Vegetarian Drumsticks (3 for S$2) and Vegetarian Fishballs (5 for S$1). They are so well done that many have dubbed the stall the “best vegetarian stall in Singapore”.

The third generation of Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian, Mdm Cho’s grandchildren, have also started More!, a crispy soy beancurd skin snack brand based on the stall’s recipe. Inspired by customers’ requests for zai er in their bee hoon, they had turned the vegetarian soy crisps into a new product to be enjoyed whenever and wherever.

It looks as though Mdm Cho’s legacy and the business she started will still live on. Let’s wish Ruyi Yuan Vegetarian and her family the best, and support them during this difficult period after the reopening. 

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