Review: Leong Meng Fatt Hakka Yong Tau Foo

Updated 23 March 2009 11:07am

Thanks to Moolah for highlighting, East coordinate was missed out and I've added in already.


**Non-Halal**



There was one Sunday, we went over to Seri Kembangan to look for this yong tau foo (stuffed tofu and vegetables) place that I've read in a guide book. We managed to find it, thank goodness the road names were still intact :p The place is actually a shack by the roadside off the main road. We reached there at 10.00am and it seems that they've just opened for the day. Hence, we got loads of freshly made items loaded on the trays. All we needed to do was pick the pieces up and pass the plate to the auntie. They will then reheat the items and cutting them up before serving to us.



Deep fried items such as stuffed tofu puff, yau char kwai (Chinese crullers) , sui kow (dumpling), foo chuk (beancurd sheet); fishcake and etc were served piping hot just on their own unlike Leong Ya where they're served in beanpaste sauce. The items were made freshly there and they tasted good. The fishpaste were generous and springy upon a bite.






Some items are served in a clear broth such as ladyfingers, brinjal, bittergourd, soft tofu... Yums! My boiboi enjoyed them a lot too.





Capt'n Hook heard someone asking the aunties about paper wrapped chicken which got him pique. Upon asking, we were informed that the chicken are still being fried and need to wait for another 20 mins. We waited and got rewarded with tender and juicy chicken meat after tearing away the paper. This one is drier version and soaked with lots of oil as compared with Leong Ya's that are soaked with gravy. The best so far we have eaten were those served at Damansara Village Steamboat Restaurant. The chicken meat is kinda crisp and very flavourful!!! Grrrr craving for some now!



We packed RM8 worth of Hakka Char Nyuk (braised deep fried pork belly with black fungus) for dinner. Capt'n Hook loved this a lot especially the gravy that went so well with rice.



It's 90 sens per piece of yong tau foo, slightly on a high side but the size is rather generous. I have to say the herbal tea served that day was one of the most delish chuk cheh sui (sugar cane) we have had in a long while! Even boiboi's soy bean is warm just delivered to the stall, tasted ori!




Here's a side story for a bit of humour on a Friday. My boiboi needed to take a leak whilst I was choosing the yong tau foo, his daddy took him to the toilet. Well, this is a kampung (village) and of course the toilet is ala kampung (sorry forgot to take a pic). Based on Capt'n Hook's description, it's a squat down toilet with some bricks for you to step on in a shed BUT he said it's well maintain and clean. Since the kid had never been to such toilet... Capt'n Hook said the first reaction outta boiboi's mouth was... "Ooowwwwww MANNNNN!!!!" LOL

To get to this place, coming from South City Plaza, you'll pass by Jalan Besar (thru the pekan and market). After Public Bank on your right, go on and look for Lifelong signage on a gray factory like building on your left. You'll need to turn in to the right at this traffic light junction. Sorry huh kinda wishy washy but if you have a GPS, punch in the coordinates.


Leong Meng Fatt Hakka Yong Tau Foo
18A Jalan 7/1
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor
Tel: 6016-2640 335
GPS Coordinates: N 03° 01' 11.6" E 101° 42' 11.1"
Opening Hours: 10.00am - 5.00pm
Closed on Mondays


Technorati Tags: yong tau foo

Review: Chee Cheung Fun Stall in Front of Kedai Kopi Lee Hoe

I used to pass by Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in the mornings aeons ago on the way to work and couldn't help noticing this tricycle that is forever crowded around with patrons every morning. This tricyle is parked in front of Kedai Kopi Lee Hoe which is located opposite of Maybank Jalan Tun H.S. Lee branch or Soong Kee Beef Ball Noodles (more known as Jalan Silang beef noodles).

I know they sell chee cheung fun (rice noodle) but never knew they were good until one of my colleague told me so. I did tried them and seriously, they're one of the better mobile chee cheung fun (ccf) in town.

My memory of thick saltish tim cheung (sweet sauce) served with ccf and kangkung was revived recently. The stall manned by mother (mama) and son (tzai tzai) still attracts many patrons but thank goodness they still using a systematic procedure when it came to ordering. You can choose to pack your ccf or you can eat at the kopitiam.

Procedure is pretty simple...

(1) Pick up a tong and a plate. Choose the ccf accompaniments - the standard foo pei (beancurd sheet with fishpaste), fish balls, various processed fishpaste goodies, yong tau foo etc. Darn... my memory really failing me :p each piece is priced 60 sens but have to confirm again if I'm going again soon.



(2) Put it along the plate "queue" *grin* and patiently wait for your turn. When it's your turn, Mama will place your items into the middle partioned pot to heat them up.

(3) Tzai Tzai will ask you how many ccf would you like and whether you prefer the flat ones or the round ones.



(4) Since I like mine flat, Tzai Tzai proceed to open and loosen up the ccf sheet. Next Tzai Tzai will cut and arrange your choices meticulously (not kidding ok, you'll need to watch him... I was mesmerised!!!) then place the ccf over them.

(5) He will then ask if you want more or less sauce; add chilli or not; and whether if you want sesame seeds. Tzai Tzai will patiently pour the sauce according to your liking. I tell you, this is first class service!



(6) For take away, Tzai Tzai will fold the plastic layer carefully over the newspaper and wrap it into a nice package. The method was fantabulous as it doesn't leak at all!!!

(7) Tzai Tzai will tell Mama how many pieces and you can hand over the money to Mama, well if she's not delivering ccf to the kopitiam. Otherwise, hand them over to Tzai Tzai.

Errmmm excuse the bad looking clump of food hahaha cos that was how it looked like when I got to office. I still loved the sauce but try not to ask for extras cos it can get a tad salty. Sighhh having some cravings, I want my ccf now!!!! Heh :p




Chee Cheung Fun Stall in tricyle
In front of Kedai Kopi Lee Hoe
Jalan Tun H.S. Lee
(Opposite Maybank)
Coordinates: 3°8'49"N 101°41'47"E

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo

Review: Restoran Mi Chel Yong Tau Foo

Updated 20 September 2009: This place is closed. Owner opened a corner coffee shop with same name round the corner which is next to Friends Cafe.


**Non-Halal**

I tell you, Kepong seems to be packed with eateries now. Errrmmm what I meant was the "new" Kepong area around Carrefour and Jusco where there were a surge of developments. I told my mom that if they were to try one outlet a day, I doubt they can cover them all in a year's time hehehe...

This place was discovered last weekend whilst looking for a place for breakie. I remember patronising Michel Cafe when they were located many years ago in Desa Business Complex. We loved their nasi lemak but never been back since they sifted. Seems like they are now operating along Jalan Metro Perdana 3 (same row as the Hong Kong Dessert place) with not one eatery BUT three at different shoplots!!! There's the cafe, then a place that sells mixed rice which looked like a cafe instead of kopitiam and lastly this Restoran Mi Chel Yong Tau Foo towards the end of the road.

I shared with my boiboi this bowl of kon lou hor fun (flat rice noodles dry style RM4.00) that came with a bowl of parang fishballs. I liked the slippery smooth hor fun and the soy sauce concoction was nice. My boiboi asked for more so I literally had about 1/3 bowl of it only, sighhh... The fishballs are not of the bouncy kind which is good as it doesn't contain borax. They're fresh with a bite to them. The clear broth was tasty and I didn't have the MSG after effect that morning.

My mom choose these yong tau foo pieces at the counter up front. Each piece costed 90 sens which are right about the price these days. I loved the way how they coiled up a few strands of long beans and stuff the fish meat into the rounds. Lots of filling there.



The filling of the stuffed white tofu have a little something extra in there that made it rather tasty. Don't think it's salted fish but could be octopus. Didn't managed to ask cos all the staff were foreigners which make it a bit tough when it came to ordering drinks. The food have picture menus heh :p



Overall this place is not too bad when the place is bright and clean ala cafe style. The inner portion of the restaurant is air-conditioned. Food wise, I don't mind going again.


Restoran Mi Chel Yong Tau Foo
Jalan Metro Perdana 3
Taman Usahawan, Kepong
Kuala Lumpur


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo

Review: Restoran Foong Foong

**Non-Halal**

Mention "Foong Foong", most KLites will immediately think of Ampang yong tau foo (beancurd and vegetables stuffed with fishpaste). It's so famous that it needs no introduction. I have been here since I was a kiddo. We always drop by here on our way to my aunt's house in Kampung Ampang Tasek. It has been a while I last went there since she have moved out of Ampang. Anyway, I went there quite recently with Yozora, JW and another colleague for lunch. Yozora was buying the two lunch and I happily tagged along upon her invitation kekeke... wai sek ma!

Parking can be horrendous unless you reach there like noon to grab a space in front of the restaurant. Otherwise you'll need to drive around to park further away.

After sitting down and got our drinks ordered, Yozora went to the counter and placed our order. The uncle then rattle off our order in Hakka via the loud speaker. Supposedly the kitchen staff will arrange those items to be delivered to our table. Goodness me, the uncle didn't age a bit hehehe. I've been seeing him doing the same thing for the past 30 years or so!

Our order came in a jiffy. First up was the delish dumplings (sui kow) in broth. Each dumpling came in quite generous fillings but strangely it doesn't contain one whole prawn. The prawn meat was minced up together with the pork!

If you decided to make your own, check here.

Here is our plate of deep fried version of dumplings and also foo chuk (beancurd sheet) roll. It's soooo piping hot! Loved these as deep fried stuff are usually more fragrant.

We have asked for the mix plate where they will give a mixture of different items of yong tau foo. If you don't fancy anything just tell them that or you can just order which ever that you like most. Our plate has stuffed brinjals, ladies fingers, white tofu, bittergourd, red chillies and bouncy fishball. Each piece is rather substantial in size. You can order rice to go with these but we didn't. We were sooo stuffed at the end but yet Yozora had wanted to order more until we told her not to.

I'm not sure how much the total bill was since Yozora paid at the counter. Anyway, Yozora thanks for including me in the lunch escapade!

Restoran Foong Foong
621-A, Jalan Besar Ampang,
68000 Ampang


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo

Review: CCF, YTF & ABC at Madras Lane Stalls

**Non-Halal**

LOL

Was trying to type out those names in full but decided they were too long, hence used the acronyms. Now that I looked at them, these acronyms kinda widely used by us, no? CCF - chee cheung fun (flat rice noodles); YTF - yong tau foo (tofu/vegetables stuffed with fish paste); and ABC - air batu campur (shaved ice concoction).

We went to Chinatown recently to grab some stuff on a Saturday and decided to drop by Madras Lane, behind Pak Peng Building, to have a bite. Since my boiboi was with us, we ordered his favourite CCF and some YTF to go with them. As usual he went on his "don't wanna eat" mode and showed his puppy eyes protest but the moment the CCF arrived, he was tucking them in. Asked for fishball and helped himself to deep fried foo chuk (soy bean sheet) too! Now, that's my boy!

I can't recall the stall number of the CCF cos there were 2 there. Hubby ordered from the busy stall as he usually prefer to go by the flow. Later he noticed why the other stall wasn't so busy... cos their CCF costed a bit more, if not mistaken 20 sens more per plate. I like my CCF to be soaked in bean paste sauce, chilli sauce AND pickled green chillies (not shown on pic cos I added later)! Each piece of YTF is 80 sens which is freshly cooked and disappeared fast from the trays! The workers have to prepare, stuff and cook them non-stop as the demand is forever high.

We have ABC and cendol (pictured) later to cool down as it can get hot and stuffy at the hawker centre. Nothing to shout about these two but at least the cendol is not the frozen type.

Just a reminder, before you order, do ask the stalls where you can sit to eat their food. The hawkers are very territorial here! Other than CCF, YTF and ABC, my makan kakis like to come here for assam laksa and curry laksa too! Hmmm yumyum... thinking about the thick curry with loads of cockles now!

To access here without walking thru the market, walk thru Pak Peng Building, Jalan Petaling or via the lane opposite the Sri Mahamariamman Indian Temple, Jalan Tun HS Lee.

Technorati Tags: malaysian food

Review: Yap Hup Kee Yong Tau Foo

If you're craving for Yong Tau Foo (stuffed beancurd and vegetables) in the evenings, look no further than Yap Hup Kee Yong Tau Foo. Even though located amongst the many printing machineries in Pudu, it's pretty easy to find this shop as you can see rows of yong tau foo screaming "Pick me, pick me" at the outter part of the shop as seen above.

Parking is a breeze in the evening but you'll missed out on the delicious claypot herbal loh shue fun and/or sui kow (dumplings) that are only offered in the late mornings or lunch hour.

The mechanism is very simple, first you pick up a tong and start placing your choice of yong tau foo pieces on the plate(s). Next, take a seat and wait for your order to arrive which is rather prompt. The server will then deep fry or cook your choices in clear broth depending on the type of yong tau foo.

What we liked about the yong tau foo here is, the choices available are errrr... slightly on the contemporary side where you can find stuffed four angle beans, long beans, broccoli and fishpaste interpersed with cloud ear fungus, apart from the traditional Hakka yong tau foo found elsewhere. At 80 sens a piece, the yong tau foo is slightly on the larger side.

The deep fried stuff will come piping hot. Best dipped in the sweetish beanpaste (mien si) sauce and the yummilicious chilli sauce.



The stuffed vegetables are served in a clear broth that come with chunks of char choy (Szechuan preserved vegetable) that I liked best.



Their sui kows (dumplings, minimum order RM7.00 for 5 pieces) are filled to the brim with fish paste and one whole medium sized prawn served in a similar broth as above. One bite gives off a bouncy and crunchy texture. I wished they could serve the herbal version in the evening!



These yong tau foo are best served with chee cheung fun (rice noodle rolls, RM2.00 a plate), be it with sweet beanpaste...



... or curry. The sprinkling of fried pounded dried shrimps (har mai) bring these chee cheung fun to another level. Other than chee cheung fun, you can ask for the the plain noodles ie loh shue fun, hor fun etc to be served in a minced pork sauce, in a claypot too if you like.



They do serve steamboat in the evenings but I hardly see any patrons ordering that. Who needs steamboat when one can glut over the yummilious yong tau foo??


Restoran Yap Hup Kee
45 Jalan Brunei Barat (off Pudu), Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (603) 2148 9220.
9.00am-5.00pm and 5.30pm-11.00pm.

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo

One of the Many Leong Ya's

**Non-Halal Post**

My first encounter with Leong Ya, I was barely in my preteens. My uncle loved to go around the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur to cari makan (look for food) and he would usually invite my family along. With them, I've been jalan-jalan cari makan (going about looking for food) from Kuala Selangor, Sungai Besar, Klang, Serdang... well I can't remember all... so now you know from where I got the traits of being a glutton since I was trained from young ok haha...

At that time without all the highways then, Serdang sounded so far away for us. We, kids, usually treated this like an outstation day trip. So one day, we came to this old shack with zing roof. Wahliau... very crowded since it was a Sunday. Anyway we managed to get a table. The way they clear the dishes is kinda shocking as it's very noisy; they just wrap up the pink colour table cloth or at that time it was some kind of paper (can't really remember but all I can recall is they're in pink); with the dishes, remnants, in fact just right about everything. After that, they just place a clean sheet over the table. This way, it was very efficient to clear the table fast as their patrons stream in non-stop especially over peak hours. In place of the sheet now, they uses clear plastic sheets in change of time.

About the food, I clearly remembering enjoying the paper wrapped chicken and yong tau foo (stuffed vegetables, beancurds etc). Other dishes, I totally cannot recall at all!

As I grew, Mine's Wonderland was in development then and someone took me to the new location. Wow I was blown away. It was located at the used to be Mine's Wonderland carpark which now stood an uncompleted building. No longer a shack, the place is breezy with tall ceilings and tiled floors. After a few visits and with Mine's Wonderland expanding, they have to shift. From there, the family business splitted and best part, they chose to be located in the same location hahaha goodness... initially it was so confusing but then we got the hang of it later on. The eldest brother run Restoran Leong Ya, another brother run Restoran Leong Ya Baru (behind eldest brother and their mother can be found here hahaha... yeah cos we asked her what's the relation over that many Leong Ya's.) and the sister's Restoran Leong Ya Indah (with the Chinese character "lady" which is located at the corner shop at opposite row).



We tend to visit Leong Ya Indah since most of the people I knew prefer this one but we've tried the other two before. Tastewise, they're pretty similar but with more dishes in their repetoire now and each of them would have their own specialties.

This time, the 2 of us went to Restoran Leong Ya and ordered a portion of Hakka Char Nyuk (braised deep fried pork belly with black fungus) which came out sooo sooo tasty. It's a bit salty for me though since I'm on a pretty bland diet since young but best with white rice!



We have a plate of Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes Shoots with Belacan. Lots of wok hei (breath of the wok) which is good news for Chinese style stir fried vegetables. The belacan amount was just right and I walloped the most from this plate.



Thank goodness there were some yong tau foo left so we ordered stuffed brinjal and bittergourd. In Hakka style, these came precooked in soy bean paste sauce. Fantastic with loads of fish meat or maybe I could be biased since I simply loved brinjals and bittergourds.



Since hubby doesn't like their style of paper wrapped chicken laden with gravy, they recommended their Fried Chicken. Seems ok but these chicken have some kind of oil smell and taste on them. I'm not sure what but smelt a bit like stale coconut which is kinda put off for myself.



Hubby and I shared a bowl of rice and a pot of tea plus with all the above dishes, it costed us RM25.70 only! Since the minimal portion of the chicken was a wee too much for us that we have to pack the remainder back. Overall, the eldest brother seems to be able to hold his fort pretty well.

Restoran Leong Ya (operate by eldest brother),
No 26-28, Jalan Dagang SB 4/1,
Taman Sungai Besi Indah

(This one is facing the bus stand with the super long pedestrian bridge across the highway to KTM Komuter Serdang Station. A few doors away from 7-11. This is the only Leong Ya that is air-conditioned.)

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo

Review: Fishing Village Restaurant

Its getting scarier in Kepong nowadays... so many restaurants and eateries have opened in the new and up coming part of Kepong. They are located either in Metro Prima where Jusco is located or the opposite part where Carrefour is. There are many shoplots at these two places and traffic at times can be a nightmare, well unless you know the back roads haha.

Anyway, my parents have gone to this Fishing Village Restaurant for countless times so naturally one day they asked us to go along for some lip smacking yong tau foo (stuffed beancurd and vegetables). Fishing Village Restaurant can be easily located and parking is a breeze in this part of the shops. Best part is, this shop is air conditioned and it's clean, with the decor slightly better than kopitiam.

My mom had wanted the drunken chicken which she claimed is delicious but they have ran out of it so we opted for drunken prawns instead. I tell you, this dish is absolutely delicious till the last drop of broth were consumed. My mom made a kickass version of drunken chicken for my confinement but this one I tell you, is simply out of this world. The amount of rice wine used is generous but not over powering. Best of all the prawns are rather big and very fresh.



The yong tau foo here is HUGE!!! A bit pricy at 90 sens a piece but it's certainly worth it cos one piece is so huge that they usually cut it into half to be shared. The foo chuk (beancurd sheet) is deep fried to the crisp and my fave, in fact everyone's fave is the stuffed brinjal! The large brinjal pieces are generously filled with fish paste... ooooh so tasty! OMG I'm craving for some now and I just had some brinjal today for lunch haha!!! Anyway the yong tau foo here is not laden with beanpaste sauce ala Hakka style. The beanpaste sauce and chilli sauce are served separately.

Certain yong tau foo pieces like bittergourd, white soft beancurd and sui kow (dumplings) were served in a clear broth. The sui kow is mediocre only but the beancurd is really silky and again came in large pieces. I like bittergourd so enough said.



We also have an order of munn char yuk (Hakka style braised meat with black fungus) which is a thumb-up dish too. This is hubby's favourite dish so he whacked almost the whole dish by himself.



Overall, the food is enjoyable and we're definitely heading back for more.




(Click for a larger map)

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + yong tau foo