Saturday, May 26, 2007

Ampang Yong Tau Foo: Just what makes a Yong Tau Foo "Ampang"?



How is Ampang Yong Tau Foo different from normal Yong Tau Foo?

Is it because you don't get to choose the items you want, or is it the fact that it gets served in a plate rather then in a bowl with noodles or bee hoon? Or is there any real difference in the items? So what really is the most important characteristic that qualifies a Yong Tau Foo as "Ampang"?

Certainly, it seems that the word "Ampang" confers a certain amount of privilege on a Yong Tau Foo. Instead of paying $3 for a bowl of Yong Tau Foo, suddenly you are paying $5 to eat a portion. As you probably know, "Ampang" refers to this famous village in KL where there are 3 shops selling similar style Yong Tau Foo. So the name "Ampang" describes a certain style of Yong Tau Foo in the same way as the name "Katong" describes a certain style of Laksa.

I don't know why I keep writing about Yong Tau Foo when it is really one of those things that don't excite me that much. Funny that. I guess I tend to eat Yong Tau Foo when I want to have something that has less cholesterol. BUT having said that, the Yong Tau Foo here is pretty good though I am finding it very difficult to rave about something that is so plain. Apart from fish paste and the sweet sauce, all the rest of the ingredients are pretty standard, know what I mean? Chillies are chillies, brinjal is brinjal and I find it hard to differentiate between a good ladies finger and a bad one. So it boils down to fish paste and sweet sauce. Both are good. Don't know what else to say. I'll leave it to the Yong Tau Foo experts to explain the finer details of appreciating Yong Tau Foo to us. 4/5

Conclusion

Place I come to to get something tasty and low cholesterol so that I can hop over to Chin Mee Chin the other side to have my kopi and kaya toast with a thick slice of butter!

Ampang Niang Tou Fu
225, East Coast Road
Singapore 428922
11.30am - 8.30pm
63453289


Special thanks to KL boy Russ for his inputs to the blog!

22 comments:

The Oriental Express said...

You can also get good ampany ytf at Sembawang Road or thereabout.

Also cheap at $3.00 per set of some 9 pieces.

wei said...

it is not fish paste. the east coast place uses meat paste, and they add five spice powder too if i'm not wrong. It is really tasty and fragrant. Their ampang niang tou foo there is really not like any other. it is worth the 5 bucks!=D

Russ said...

I am a KL boy so ....

1. Ampang is not a name of a road in KL - it is a village at the end of Ampang Road - Ampang road leads to Ampang village, east of KL

2. Authentic ampang YTF is often deep fried unlike other YTFs, including the brinjal, etc etc and served on huge communal plate with some (not much) soup. Tends to be oilier. Also the types of items are generally more limited. But in Ampang, you can actually specify what type you want (but not pick and choose like Singapore YTF).

Miss Loi said...

Greetings from Ampang!

To me there can be only ONE Ampang YTF and that's Hung Hung at Pekan Ampang! Just had lunch there yesterday (yum yum!) - though the deep fried stuff wasn't so good for my mouth ulcers :(

No offence har ... but I just showed my folks here the YTF photos in your blog and the response was like "Yikes!!!!" Hehehe

Anonymous said...

Yes !! try Hung Hung's YTF!!!!! though they are heaty , u can always order a cup of cooling sugar cane drink!!!

xalmon said...

i'm not sure if what i'm recommending is considered ampang ytf, but you can go try this stall at simpang bedok. upstairs of shop n save.

they run out of stuff to sell around 6 to 7pm.

Holy Drummer said...

In my opinion, the best one I think I had is the one at Sembawang. In all honesty, I went to this one and never went back again. Nothing to shout about.

ieat said...

Someone please just give me the address for the Sembawang one!! Not the upper Thomson one opp Nee Soon camp right?

Thanks Russ for your input, I have acknowledged it at the bottom of the blog

Canton Pixie said...

i think the sembawang and the thomson one are referring to the same place right? with a Hans cafe on the same row, right at the other end?

ieat&itreat - can u give us a comparative rating once u hv tried the thomson one?? so that the rest of us who dont live in far east can decide whether or not we travel all the way there to eat this lah.:)

abcef said...

The YTF at East Coast is also no biggie! In fact the gravy is clear..sigh!

The same goes for the Sembawang one also. Probably saved a bit by the deep fried dumpling.

err... if not so excited in YTF then how come post about it??

ieat said...

As I said,I eat YTF when I feel I have eaten too much meat and want a relatively tasty alternative. Anyway, I can't leave out something as famous as Ampang YTF from the blog can I?

Damien said...

Personally, I prefer this one as the one at Sembawang tasted pretty normal with the usual minute fillings, albeit the variety is more.

The stock base at this YTF also tasted more "cheng" whereas the Sembawang one has high sodium content and MSG.

Damien said...

Personally, I prefer this one as the one at Sembawang tasted pretty normal with the usual minute fillings, albeit the variety is more.

The stock base at this YTF also tasted more "cheng" whereas the Sembawang one has high sodium content and MSG.

Canton Pixie said...

er, then how about a post on thunder tea rice (Lei Cha Fan)? it's certainly healthy and non-meaty rite?

ieat said...

Got to try that one day. Any really good ones to recommend?

Canton Pixie said...

there's one at Vivocity Food Republic - i think it's the most famous and pretty decent. and my friend told me got one at geylang lor 17. and with all that controversy about soy - i think it beats eating YTF. hope ur other readers can volunteer more places selling it - so that i dont have to go battle the crowds at vivo!

People's_Representative_of_guangdong said...

I have tried the one opposite Nee Soon Camp but I thought it's not really that good. I very much prefer Sea King at Thomson (224R Upper Thomson Road, air-con / clean). A very low-profile eatery which sells a very confusing combination of food: YTF, Siow Long Pau and Fish-head steamboat??!! Their YTF is really different from other competitors. You will know when you tried them. Other than the YTF, You can order a bowl of minced pork noodle at 80 cents! Last but not least, their Siow Long Pau is one of the best I have ever tired, even better than Shanghai Renjia.

Anonymous said...

BY THE WAY, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE CAN I LERAN TO COOK AMPANG YTF, OR ANY CCULINARY CLASS AVAILABLE FOT AMPANG YTF?

I TRIED THE ORGANIC LEI CHA FAN AT FORTUNE CENTRE #04. IT'S SERVED EVERY WED ONLY AND ITS VERY VERY NICE. OTHER ORGANIC FOOD AVAILABLE TOO.

boredlowlyunderpaidintern said...

i was searching to see whether there've been any reviews on lei cha fan and i found these comments.

the best (and surely the pioneer) lei cha fan stall, in my opinion, is to be found at geylang lorong 17. do not be fooled by the chain which has sprung up - there are branches at vivocity food republic and amoy street, to name a few. there's also one at balestier which according to my mother is terrible.

only go for the best. visit the lovely auntie and uncle at geylang - look out for the red flags which say "ke jia lei cha". closed on wednesdays, i think. add 50cents for brown rice.

Anonymous said...

Have u tried the YTF at Upper Thomson road just besides the Shell Station? Located beside a Kolo Noodle which is also not bad. This one i highly recommend. Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Not Ampang but the YTF at Jalan Besar is quite decent. The coffee shop near the stadium. The laksa gravy is what I must have after every flight.

JugsofJugsofJugs said...

The ampang YTH at East Coast has a light and clear broth. Chockful of soybean sweetness. The chilli paste is 4 horsepower variety, aka si beh hiam. Items are not cheap. Owner as upped the price to 60cents per piece. The top selling item is their deep fried beancurd skin with meat paste. My preferred method of consumption - follow at your own peril: Soak this large crispy "cracker" into the clear soup base. The soup instantly gets more robust, if you do not mind the extra oil globules from the soak. Then fold the now softened beancurd skin twice, left to right and top to bottom, forming into a 2inch square. Open mouth and bite into the oishii-goodness. Then your eyes will widen involuntarily because it tastes so good. Eat a couple heaped tablespoonful of rice. This will reset your eyes to normal. Repeat with chilli if you like. Shiok!

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