YOU know there has to be something special about an old roadside yong tau foo cart when it’s recommended by two generations.
I followed a friend one evening to this little cart that has been operating at the corner of Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 and Jalan Thambipillay for the past 40 years.
The friendly woman manning the motorcycle cart, Maung Pui Har, 47, has long taken over the business from her father and serves people of all races in Brickfields.
Apart from the usual variety of fish paste and tofu items, she also sells sausages and hard-boiled eggs. She uses traditional charcoal fire to boil the ingredients.
Customers can also choose to add chee cheong fun if they’d like to have something other than yong tau foo.
The yong tau foo is sold for about RM1 per piece and customers can add chee cheong fun if they wish.
The yong tau foo is then drenched in Maung’s homemade sweet sauce with the option of a generous helping of chilli sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds in polystyrene packs.
Customers often order takeaway, but she also has a few plastic stools ready for those who wish to eat on the spot.
I do not know if the use of a charcoal fire affects the taste of food in any way, but the pieces of yong tau foo are cooked just right so that they are springy.
Coupled with her special sweet sauce, it is hard to put down your chopsticks until you are done eating.
Maung Pui Har took over the business from her father and has been serving delicious yong tau foo to a hungry crowd.
Customers can opt to have some boiling broth added to their packs to wash down the yong tau foo.
Maung takes a break on Sundays and Mondays, but she is at that particular street corner every other evening from 7pm.
She usually opens till late, sometimes as late as 2am, since we Malaysians are known for eating at any hour of the day and she enjoys good business late into the night.
Maung’s yong tau foo cart is usually parked outside Restoran One Sentral at the corner of Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 and Jalan Thambipillay, opposite Old Town White Coffee and just a short walk away from Nu Sentral and YMCA.