Yong Tau Foo

When you find a classic Hakka dish from Ipoh, Malaysia, on the menu of Old Town Malaysian Cafe, you know how small the food world has become if you're able to savour this dish in New Lynn. Chef Ming and wife Moon have upped the ante by putting Yong Tau Foo on their menu. Not many local Malaysian eateries feature this dish because of the seasonal availability of the key vegetables. Old Town have a core of three: eggplant, jalapeño and taupok (tofu puff), each stuffed with minced pork and fish. After being deep fried, this combination is then bathed in a rich chicken stock. Finally, fried shallots and coriander are scattered over to make a tasty garnish. Customers then help themselves to the condiments bar; in this instance, I recommend the cut chilli in soy. If you don't wish to have the chicken stock option, Yong Tau Foo can be served dry on rice (with mung bean gravy sauce) or on rice noodles, egg noodles or vermicelli. Note: when bitter gourd is in season, they, too, are stuffed and treated similarly.