Johore Bahru II

Walking around Pelangi, we came across a corner coffeeshop that serves Hakka food. I wish I can recall the name, but it was something generic like Restoran Hakka. At one end of the coffeeshop two ladies were stuffing yong-tau-foo. Trays of stuffed bittergourd, beancurd skin and tofu was laid around the table. The ladies chatted while they worked with a steady and practiced rhythm.

I don't know about you, but if I see stuff being made right in front of me, I have to try it. So even though we had already had breakfast, we ordered a few pieces. I was slightly disappointed with this dish, the stuffing included too much fatty pork for my liking. That granny had me fooled.

I was also wondering if they do a good version of Abacus Seeds. Abacus is what our grandfathers used to do their calculations. in the days before the electronic pocket calculator was invented. The Hakka dish of Abacus seeds refers to pillowy little dumplings made with flour and cooked mashed yam that looks like abacus beads. Done right, they are soft yet chewy, with the distinct taste and powdery texture of yam. It is very time-consuming to make, and most shop-bought versions would have very little yam in the dough. The beads are usually stirfried with a simple sauce of minced garlic, pork, dried shrimps and Shitake mushrooms. The version here was not too bad, I could definitely taste the yam, and the sauce was tasty enough. It would be hard to find a better version of it in any hawker centres or restaurants in Singapore.

Comments

[Mik]

The stuffed tofu looks so yummy and pretty sure the stock tastes good too (from that 'cloudy' look)..What I love about Malaysian food and some other SEA street food is that they are rustic and honest...too much of 'streamlining' the cooking process (to be efficient and cost effective??) in Singapore..

[nyetzy]

That's the nice thing about being in Spore. You can just pop over next door to have good, cheap food. Guess it will take some bumping around (unless you have recommendations) before you are able to find the real gems. Like you, I cannot resist buying food which are hand made in front of you and just by looking at the pics, the YTF looks good. Typically, Hakka YTF do contain some amt of pork but I think this old lady probably added more of the fatty ones.

[marcelo]

hi!! from chile in latin america

is a very best food,

no have other plate

bye bye, my fiend

in latin america have tecnology

[umami]

Hi marcello from chile, thanks for dropping by.