Received an early morning call from foodie friend Angie to have breakfast together. I was given a choice of Hakka yong tau foo at Balestier Road or Hainanese curry rice at Beo Crescent. I picked the former and took a bus down to the venue after calling hubby to join us.
Kai Juan Coffeeshop, this old corner coffeeshop was located on Balestier Road, along the same road as the famous Boon Tong Kee chicken rice shop.
I spoke to the coffeeshop assistant who told us that their shop has not undergone much change for the past 40 years.
There are three food stalls in this coffeeshop. All of them have been operating for more than 20 years.
We came specially for this Hakka yong tau foo (德志客家酿豆腐) manned by an old couple in their late 70s. The stall was started by the wife in 1976. The man was a teacher who has since retired and now helps his wife at the stall.
These pioneer generation hawkers are very hardworking, They come to work at 3 am to prepare the food and start selling at 7 am. They close at 2 pm. Wow. That is almost 12 hours of back breaking hard work for this old couple!
The couple didn't want to speak to us initially, but the wife opened up when she saw us bantering with the men from the bak kut teh stall.
At the couple's stall, we saw several pieces of yong tau foo immersed in a basin of broth. Angie told us that this is the old school style of selling yong tau foo in the old days.
My hubby ordered a bowl of yong tau foo with vermicelli (dry) and requested for chilli paste to be added to it. Oh boy, the chilli paste was spicy! The meal cost only S$3 and the lady boss gave him free veggies. hehehe.....
Angie had yong tau foo soup and a bowl of noodles (dry). Her meal cost S$3.50. She couldn't help giving hubby a hard stare when he started bragging that he got his meal cheaper because of his good looks. LOL
We like the broth which tasted deliciously sweet with the flavour of fish, pork and veggies.
Angie and I ordered some dishes from Ah Hak Bak Kut Teh. Their Teochew style pork rib soup is clear, has lots of garlic and pepper in it. I ordered a bowl of pork rib soup (S$6.50) with steamed rice and a mustard green side dish (S$2). The soup was tasty but the vegetable was too salty for my taste.
Angie chose braised pig intestines (S$6), a bowl of pork liver and kidney soup (S$6). Both Teochew men were friendly, attentive and came to top up our soup.
I ordered an iced milk tea and bought Angie a cup of coffee from the beverage stall. Angie was happy with her coffee as it was aromatic and thick. Apparently they use good quality coffee powder.
After a satisfying meal, we boarded bus number 131 to go to Middle Road.
早上, 贪吃一号安琪约了我到馬里士他路的佳园茶室吃古早味客家酿豆腐。这里的酿豆腐是泡在汤里让我们挑选的。我尝了一口汤头。。。 很赞! 他们的辣椒酱就太辣了!
摊主是70多岁的阿嫲, 她和退休教师的丈夫每天清晨3点到咖啡店制作酿豆腐, 7点开摊, 下午2点收摊。他们每天工作十多个小时, 真辛苦。他们的食物价钱不贵, 阿嬷亲手制作的客家酿豆腐很美味。
德志客家酿豆腐
营业时间 ：早上 7am 到下午 2pm
我们还叫了肉骨茶、猪肝猪肾汤、滷粉肠、搭配菜尾来吃。肉骨茶汤还不错, 不过菜尾太咸。
亚合肉骨茶是老字号, 售卖道地潮州式肉骨茶30多年了。售卖肉骨茶的两位潮州兄服务好, 很健谈, 会自动为我们加汤呢。
营业时间 ：从早上6点开到午夜2点
Oh my, that Hakka yong tao foo looks good! And it's cool to know that Singapore still has real old school eateries rather than recreations of them. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a few old school eateries left.... so we to savour and remember the old school taste before they are gone forever.
ReplyDelete