Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

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I cannot decide which is more off-putting - the never ending queue for the yong tau foo or the fact that the stall is located right next to the toilet?

For years, I have walked past the stall countless of times but not once did I throw it an extra glance due to the reason above.

It wasn't until recently that I finally relented.

I figured that they must be doing something right since they are able to command a perpetual queue everyday despite its less than ideal location.

On the day of my visit, I was elated to see less than ten customers in front of me however, the queue was very slow moving.

When it was my turn, I ordered a bowl of dry bee hoon (rice vermicelli) which comes with six pieces of yong tau foo in a separate bowl of soup for $3. For the same price, you can opt for eight pieces of yong tau foo without any noodles. The yong tau foo pieces are fixed therefore, you are unable to choose but you can add on other ingredients like fishcake, eggplant and bitter gourd.

When I brought my order to the table, I thought my bowl of dry bee hoon looked kind of sad without any sauces. They do not have the usual sweet sauce or even sambal chili but what they do have is the vinegar-ish chicken rice garlic chili.

In my opinion, their garlic chili is good but not compatible with the yong tau foo. I wonder why they provide this instead of the sambal chili?

I thought that I might as well empty the bee hoon into the soup and have yong tau foo bee hoon soup instead but, after some stirring, I realized that there is actually some kind of colorless concoction at the bottom of the bowl.

Despite not knowing what the bee hoon is flavored with, it actually tasted quite ok.

One stark difference between this yong tau foo and the others is that they give you a spoonful of fried ikan bilis (anchovies) on top of your noodles.

Although not hot-off-the-wok crispy, it definitely lent some savoriness and crunch to the lightly flavored bee hoon.

While the yong tau foo pieces are quite decent, my favorite ones are the two wrapped in bean curd skin. If there is anything to pick a bone with, it would have to be the fish balls which I find overly soft for my liking. I wished they are a little firmer though.

As for the broth, because it is boiled with ikan bilis and fish bone, the taste is refreshingly light. It does not taste completely plain but it might be a bit underwhelming if you prefer stronger tastes.

Taking up two shop lots, one of the stalls is where they take and prepare your order while the other stall is used primarily for making their own yong tau foo.

There is only so much yong tau foo that a pair of hands can produce manually. Because they do not get ready stock from the suppliers, they cannot offer a wide variety however, you can be guaranteed that your yong tau foo is made fresh at the stall daily.