Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Who agrees with me that food served on hot plates always seems more enticing? The classic black pepper steak at Jack’s Place, the beef pepper rice from Pepper Lunch… the list goes on. There’s something about the sizzling sound and irresistible aroma that never fails to turn heads. So, when my colleague, Esther shared with me about Wen Ji Yong Tau Foo, a 2-week-old kopitiam stall at 440 Pasir Ris Drive 4 that serves hot plate yong tau foo — I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to try.
I couldn’t believe I agreed to swing by this part of Singapore at 9.30am on a MONDAY, all the way from Ang Mo Kio. But I guess, for good food (I hope), I don’t mind.
The stall makes the yong tau foo by hand daily, and serves a variety of noodles and crowd favourites like Laksa Yong Tau Foo (S$5.80). We had our eyes set on the Hot Plate Black Pepper Yong Tau Foo (S$7) — our main objective that morning.
As the chefs served the sizzling hot plate onto our tray, it immediately caught the attention of several curious aunties in the queue. I could hear them whispering to each other, “Oooooo, it smells good!” and “What is that, ah?”. Yup, hot plates never fail to steal the limelight.
The dish consisted of cooked egg crowned with 3 pieces of beancurd, a stuffed eggplant, 2 beancurd skins, a fishball, and fishcake, all drenched in black pepper sauce.
Since my 2 dining partners dislike eggplant (thankfully), I immediately dived for the massive stuffed morsel, which waa absolutely drool-worthy. The surface was crispy, giving way to a silky texture and stuffed with tasty, firm meat. Though the beancurd was fried, it was still fluffy on the inside, pairing really well with the slightly-spiced black pepper sauce.
What I initially thought was a piece of tteokbokki turned out to be a Fuzhou-style fishcake, stuffed with a little meat. Though the fishball wasn’t the best version I’d tried, it was alright in my books. If I had one complaint about this dish, it would be the lack of sauce — I just wish there was more of it!
The dish also comes with plain rice, and when we were asked if we would like minced meat on top, we shamelessly nodded our heads in unison. The brownish gravy with minced pork added more flavour and depth to the white grains of rice.
We also ordered the Mee Tai Mak Yong Tau Foo (S$5.80), which came with a small bowl of ‘rat tails’ topped with minced pork. served with a bowl of yong tau foo soup. Ingredients wise, it was almost the same as the previous dish, with a slightly reduced quantity. Though the overall colour of the mee tai mak was underwhelming, it tasted much better than it looked. I found hidden golden nuggets of pork lard embedded within the minced pork, which enhanced the overall unctuousness of the noodles.
Though the yong tau foo ingredients were of the same good quality, I must say that the soup could be improved. Other than a hint of peppery heat, it tasted almost like plain water to us.
Residing in the east? Why not head down to 440 Pasir Ris Drive 4 and savour the hot plate yong tau foo yourself? One word of advice, though — eat it while it’s hot!
