Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Yong He Eating House sits at the junction of Geylang Road and Lor 24A Geylang; and opens 24 hours

It was way back in April last year when we ate at the legendary Taiwan’s Yong He Soya Bean Milk King (Yong He Dou Jiang Wang) in Taipei for breakfast; a perfect counter to the chilly spring weather; and my first time relishing salty soya bean with crispy you tiao (dough fritters). The outlet also sell various Taiwanese snacks like spring onion pancake, meat floss and egg bun, etc.

Although I really need to dig deep into the cobweb-covered archives to rediscover the magic of Taiwan and the incredible night markets, the fabulous scenery and food at Jiu Fen, Alishan and Dan Sui, as well as the best stinky tofu run at Rao He Street Night Market. Utterly delicious with lots of sauces.

I can feel the craving for a subsequent trip coming.

Anyway, today’s post is a continuation of last weekend’s Singapore hawker food run, and as luck would have it, in the heart of Geylang is this Taiwanese 24-hours establishment named Yong He Eating House; presumably a branch of the original.

Warm or cold soya bean milk  (SGD1.40), soya bean curd (SGD1.80) with incredibly lengthy ‘you tiao’ (SGD1.20 a pair) (some call these dough fritters, dough sticks, or Chinese crullers) at Yong He; this combination seems to work wonders for breakfast. Or you can do late night supper if so happened that you’re in Geylang for business at night (ahem….)

Mention Geylang and most would raise an eyebrow given the notorious red light district label tagged to the neighbourhood, but this is an area packed with cheap and good eats, according to some locals.

I came to Geylang many years back (before I started writing, obviously) for a taste of the famous Geylang Frog Porridge (think it was from Eminent Frog Porridge, but I can’t be sure), and since then I haven’t returned.

Searching for a place for breakfast in Singapore is relatively easy; either you visit one of the many hawker food centres in city area or even in the most obscure of neighbourhood, and guaranteed you will be able to find something to your liking. Or if you feel a bit more ‘atas’ and it’s time to transform into your Parisian self, then go on a café-hopping spree.

You see, Motormouth at times can be a wee bit erratic. Instead of the routine breakfast spots, we found our way to Geylang (take the green line – East West Line to Aljunied and have a blast walking around), enticed by the thought of rediscovering the same taste of Yong He; of tummy-warming soya milk with you tiao, spring onion pancake and maybe a bowl of soya bean curd (tau fu fah) or two.

Lu Rou Fan (SGD3.50); a classic dish sometimes also known as the national dish of Taiwan (it’s a tough call between this and Taiwanese beef noodles) – simple steamed rice with braised minced pork, half a braised hard-boiled egg, salted vegetables and boiled cabbage.

The premise does not look shady, dilapidated or even scary as some may think. In fact, at this junction along the main road of Geylang, Yong He Eating House stands proud and spirited despite the 24 hours cycle of business.

The menu is clearly stated on the board; in both English and Chinese characters.

I have read about Yong He’s version of the Carrot Cake with Egg (SGD3.00) is pretty delicious; and thus we ordered that for sharing. And a portion of spring onion pancake with egg (SGD2.20), a bowl of Lu Rou Fan (SGD3.50) (RICE for breakfast?! Yup … the perils of being a food blogger), warm soya milk (sweet variety; but sugar is optional and DIY), cold soya bean curd and two pairs of ‘you tiao’ to be dunked into the milky broth.

Carrot Cake with Egg (SGD3.00); a twist to the classic Lor Bak Gou, at Yong He they shred the salted radish and stuff into the dough to fry, and then covered with an omelette with spring onion

The experience was more of a hit and miss though. The soya bean milk was good, and thankfully they did not add sugar or syrup prior to being served. But the taste of the soya bean milk is still a far cry from Taiwan’s or even Hong Kong’s version. It could be the origin of the beans or how the beans were cooked. I should have tried the salty version (that has a slightly weird appearance; the version we had in Taipei looked like a pool of curd but with ‘choy pou’ – preserved radish, spring onion and dried shrimps), but did not this time around.

The ‘you tiao’ was crispy alright, and soaked up the soya bean milk well. However, both the Carrot Cake with Egg and Spring Onion Pancake suffered from a too-liberal dash of oil; the savoury pancakes were literally swimming in a pool of grease! The Carrot Cake was much better though, as the Spring Onion Pancake was terribly oily and uncharacteristically chewy.

Surprisingly, the Lu Rou Fan was satisfactory. Some reviewers compared this to Taiwan, but if I remember correctly, Yong He in Taiwan does not serve this dish. So it’s a Singapore-only specialty. Of course, the Lu Rou Fan in other stalls in Taiwan tasted much better; the difference was in the minced pork gravy; without the need for egg, or even the other greens. But the Lu Rou Fan at Yong He Geylang was filling, very passable and deserving of a try; especially if you miss Taiwan’s version.

Other items they serve include the Taiwan Noodle or Mee Sua in a starchy gravy, Toasted Bun with Meat Floss and Egg, Stewed Pork Bun and even dim sum.

Okay, that almost ended our food run on a high note, but the lunch of Katong Laksa kicked things up a notch. Wait for that in the next post, ya?

Yong He Eating House
At the corner of Geylang Road and Lor 24A Geylang,
Geylang, Singapore. Opens 24 hours.
*Nearest MRT station is Aljunied (green line); then make your way along Geylang Road and you will see Yong He Eating House at one corner of the junction with Lor 24A Geylang. This was quite easy to locate.