Yong Tau Foo Showdown: Yong Xiang vs Poy Kee
Chinatown. What’s the first thing that springs to mind?
Aside from the iconic 珍珠坊 building and our essential Lunar New Year decor shopping, this vibrant district is deeply rooted in Chinese heritage and in my dad’s words: “home to the realest yong tau foo stalls”.
Specifically, Yong Xiang and Poy Kee at People’s Park Food Centre.
How real is real? Get transported back to the good ol’ days here. Serving traditional yong tau foo for decades, both stalls operate with a stiff menu (only 4 types of ingredients) that does not allow customers to customise their orders. You heard that right.
The factors for this showdown are simple — Ingredients, Broth and Value for Money. Let’s pay a visit to my dad’s favourite.
Yong Xiang Xing Dou Fu
Helmed by second-generation stall owners, this legendary spot is said to be “the best yong tau foo stall in Singapore”. Really meh?
My dad who has been a customer of theirs for the past 40 years can vouch for that. I mean, this article was actually his idea LOL. But one thing is for sure, Yong Xiang Xing Dou Fu boasts the longest queue and probably the shortest opening hours in the archaic food centre.
Immediately seen with a fast-moving line once the stall opens at noon, all ingredients get sold out within 2.5 hours. We saw a staff member turn away disgruntled customers at 2.35pm. Yes, I noted that down.
There’s no need for second thoughts on “what to eat” here.
They only have a singular item on the menu – Yong Tau Foo (S$6), fished out from a boiler pot in front of you. There are no complementary carbs either. “It’s okay, the yong tau foo is good enough,” my dad assured. After hearing his enthusiastic praises of the stall for days, I didn’t want to be disappointed.
This piping bowl consisted of 2 Fishballs, 2 Fish Paste Tofu, 3 Fried Meat Paste Tofu and 3 Fish Beancurd Rolls. According to a staff member, these were all handmade!
“Aiyo, why the Fishballs are smaller than last time?!”, my dad exclaimed with a sigh.
I hoped that we weren’t off to a wrong start. Okay. Although bite-sized, it was chewy and bursting with subtle fishiness lah. Fortunately, we were indifferent towards the remaining ingredients that were adequately sized.
Topped with a delicate layer of briny paste, the Fish Paste Tofu had a silky mouthfeel that no factory could replicate. These inconsistently-squared sponges were accentuated with the sweetness of soybeans and could be easily prodded through with a chopstick.
Its fried counterpart wasn’t a let-down either! The Fried Meat Paste Tofu included a savoury pork-based exterior and a porous interior. With a contrast of firm and soft textures, this was an absolute delight to chew into as it was oozing with broth as well.
At this point in time, my dad was nearly finished with his share HAHA.
Moving on to the last item, the Fish Beancurd Rolls were easily my favourite among the 4 ingredients. I can only describe it as a fishy bolster of sorts. Wrapped in wispy beancurd skin, the fishcake at Yong Xiang was more sizeable when compared to other yong tau foo stalls.
Now for the predominant part of the dish – the broth. Garnished with piquant coriander and spring onions, the no-frills soup was the epitome of old-school. While I couldn’t discern any distinctive ingredients infused here, it was clean-tasting and light with a hint of sweetness.
We particularly enjoyed pairing the clear liquid with a spoonful of ingredients!
I didn’t expect Yong Xiang’s yong tau foo to be served without rice or noodles, but the portion was surprisingly sufficient. As evidenced by my dad’s empty bowl (he stomached those garnishes also…), its historic title is kinda justified.
Will Poy Kee prove us wrong?
32 New Market Rd, People’s Park Food Centre, #01-1084
Tue to Sun: 12.30pm – 4pm
Closed on Mon
Poy Kee Yong Tau Foo
Having been around Chinatown for a good 53 years, this lesser-known spot is relatively newer than Yong Xiang as it is helmed by first-generation stall owners.
Popular among old folks for their crazy affordable prices, I observed that even though Poy Kee’s queue was shorter than that famed stall, it was continuous. Not bad ah. There’s something that I need you to keep in mind…
Ask for noodles. Do note that all portions (S$4.50/ S$5.50/ S$6.50) include a choice of mee kia or mee pok.
I made the terrible mistake of not opting for noodles because I assumed that there would be extra costs. While the portion of noodles is the same, what differs is the number of yong tau foo ingredients. “Small (S$4.50) with noodles is 7 pieces, without noodles is 10,” a staff member explained.
Wondering if there will be a huge difference in numbers, I opted for a Medium (S$5.50) without noodles which was a S$0.50 difference from Yong Xiang.
I needed no confirmation as to whether their ingredients were handmade. Heck, I saw an auntie taking out a tray of freshly sliced Fish Paste Tofu! A foreword, I did NOT have much expectations for Poy Kee.
Nevertheless, whatever existing expectations were exceeded.
Here, we have 4 Fishballs, 2 Fish Paste Tofu, 2 Fried Tofu and 3 Fish Beancurd Rolls. That’s 11 items for S$5.50?! Super worth it.
Starting off strong, their Fishballs were impressively bigger, in quantity and size. This resulted in a satisfying mouthful in every bite! Not to mention that it was extremely QQ too. Legit defines the “ball” in fishball sia.
As for the Fish Paste Tofu, it was akin to a pillow. Featuring a mound of velvety-smooth fish paste, this had an arguably softer consistency. Taste-wise, I would say that their variation had a stronger fishy taste than Yong Xiang.
What a close fight! Due to the ingredients’ striking similarities from both stalls, this was getting hard to choose.
The Fried Tofu interestingly didn’t include any type of paste. Deceptively plain-looking, it was loaded with savouriness and sported a dense golden-brown skin that perfectly retained its shape despite floating in moisture for all that time.
This was what I meant by “the other yong tau foo stalls” earlier on. Although skinnier in size, the equally delicate Fish Beancurd Rolls still packed flavourful waves of the ocean. It was then I realised that most of their ingredients lean towards the salty side.
Hmm. Is it because of the broth?
Yes. Richly infused in rock sugar, soybeans and anchovies (I could clearly point that out here), its broth had interlocking flavours of sweet and perhaps, a gentle umami. Additionally, I espied the auntie adding light soya sauce and pepper into the soup before serving.
This does add depth lah, however, my only gripe was that I felt thirsty afterwards and the otherwise clear broth turned oily after a while.
In contrast to its competitor, my highlight at Poy Kee is undoubtedly the Fishballs.
Like many regulars, I was totally blown away by the amount of good-quality ingredients you can get at such a low price point. And honestly, the portion is more filling here.
32 New Market Rd, People’s Park Food Centre, #01-1066
Mon to Fri: 11am – 7pm
Closed on Sat & Sun
The Verdict
Wah, I’m struggling to decide.
Let’s begin with the Ingredients first. Prioritising quality, both stalls had an authentic yet delicious simplicity that cannot be reproduced. Prioritising quantity, this is a no-brainer, Poy Kee Yong Tau Foo takes the cake with their complimentary bowls of noodles.
Value for Money to the tee! Back to the Broth, I initially wanted to give it to the multi-layered Poy Kee. After much thinking, my baseline was that we all require something lighter on the palate to complement a soup-soaked yong tau foo.
Therefore, the winner of this showdown goes to Yong Xiang Xing Dou Fu. I will highly recommend Poy Kee if you prefer a larger serving though. Once again, a gentle reminder to ask for noodles.
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