Ah Keong Yong Tow Foo: 17-year-old stall serves affordable & yummy YTF — the best I’ve ever had!
Some people love to say, “You don’t hate that food; you’ve just never had a good version of it!” Sure, it can be annoying, but sometimes they’re actually right. Case in point (for me): Ah Keong Yong Tow Foo, a 17-year-old stall tucked in Uptown Damansara Hawker Center, where yong tau foo is served fresh daily.
Now, let me be honest — I have never been a fan of yong tau foo. Over my 20-something years of living, the versions I’ve tried have been, well, tragic. Picture this: soggy, boiled imitation seafood drowning in overly sweet, gloopy sauce that lingers unpleasantly long on your tongue after you’re done eating. Not exactly something to enjoy.
So, when a colleague enthusiastically suggested I give this place a try, I wasn’t exactly jumping with excitement.
Upon arriving merely 15 minutes after the stall opened, there was already a short line forming. The uncle was skilfully preparing the ingredients (from RM1 to RM2.60), dumping them fresh on the counter with such speed and grace that left me amazed, and maybe also a little nervous whenever he got too close to the fire. Though the faded burn marks all over his hands told me that I got nothing to worry about.
What I tried at Ah Keong Yong Tow Foo
After much deliberation (and enjoying an impromptu facial from the soup steam), my dining companion and I filled our bowl with whatever caught our eye: fried fuchuk, stuffed bean curd skin, fishcake, cheese-stuffed fishcake, stuffed ladyfinger and eggplant, and wonton. The grand total? RM19 for a generously piled plate of yong tau foo.
Now, here’s where I almost shed a tear of joy — this stall refried the ingredients before serving. I’d never seen that at a yong tau foo stall near me before, and it made all the difference. I opted for the dry version, paired with a mix of sweet bean sauce and red chilli sauce, both of which you could top up for free.
After giving the bowl a good mix, it was a bit of a challenge to tell which piece was which — but I powered through for you, my dearest readers. My first bite of the day was the stuffed bean curd skin, and it didn’t disappoint: crisp on the outside, with a bouncy, well-seasoned filling.
The fried fish cake was equally enjoyable, and not fishy in the slightest. The fried fuchuk, however, stole the show for me — perfectly crispy and airy, offering a delightful crunch without a hint of greasiness.
The stuffed ladyfinger and eggplant offered a nice contrast: the former was boiled, while the latter was fried. Both were melt-in-your-mouth tender, though the filling leaned on the fishy side, reminiscent of overly-fishy keropok lekor. Still, I devoured them with gusto. As for the cheese-stuffed fishcake, it was the same type you’d find at hotpot spots like Sukiya — predictably addictive and oozing with cheese.
The real star of the meal? The sauces. The bean sauce struck the perfect balance — not too sweet, with just the right consistency, elevated even further when mixed with a splash of leftover soup from the boiled ingredients. And the red chilli sauce? Simply phenomenal. It was light and flavourful, though I wouldn’t have minded a bit more heat to spice things up.
Oh, what about the wonton, you say? Maybe the wonton was the friend we made along the way. After being refried and chopped up, it vanished into the plate, leaving my dining companion and me on a fruitless search. A mystery that only Benoit Blanc can solve, I fear.
Final thoughts
How do I feel about Ah Keong Yong Tow Foo? Let’s just say I was already craving another round on the ride home — that should tell you everything. The price falls somewhere between affordable and standard, which feels like an absolute steal for the quality of food served.
In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m already plotting my next 1-hour pilgrimage back to Ah Keong Yong Tow Foo.
Expected damage: RM4 – RM19 per pax
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