KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — Food finds that shine often comes from the tips of those who live in the neighbourhood, as their inside knowledge of the area makes a difference.
Restoran Dong Sheng Yong Tau Foo is my friend’s favourite spot for yong tau foo, hence expectations were sky high.
Anyone new to the area would have walked past the restaurant as it was relatively quiet during lunchtime with just one or two tables.
Like every other yong tau foo place, you are given a paper chit to mark your order for the kitchen to prepare. The yong tau foo is RM2 per piece.
Chunky ‘yong tau foo’ like a stuffed beancurd, fish ball and bittergourd is stuffed with their in-house fish paste. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Once the food hits the table, I could see the fried items were a light golden hue with crispy edges, signalling freshly fried items in not overused oil.
Moreover, there’s no oily residue on the plate, a sign that it’s been properly fried at the right temperature.
The eggplant, which is always my favourite, was cooked to a creamy mess with the fish paste stuffed inside, while the fuchuk roll was extremely crispy.
Savour well-fried ‘yong tau foo’ with eggplant, ‘fuchuk’ and beancurd puff that isn’t drenched with oil. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Even the yong tau foo bobbing in a bowl of clear soup was huge in size and came with a chunky fishball.
Most places tend to pan fry the bittergourd yong tau foo for extra flavour but this place prefers to boil it till the vegetable has a soft consistency, making it a much healthier bite.
Their beancurd for the yong tau foo is also the homemade type with a creamy rather than a white hue with a stronger soybean flavour.
Here they generously stuff the vegetables and items with freshly made fish paste, scrapped from fresh fish delivered to them every day.
Braised chicken feet gets a spicy, sour twist here for an appetising bite. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Apparently it’s just the fresh catch of the day and no specific type of fish is singled out.
Expect to eat more than just yong tau foo here as exceptional finds include their Fresh Pork Patties with Beancurd Skin (3 for RM7) and Braised Chicken Feet (RM7).
Pork patties are a dime a dozen but this version has so many ingredients jam packed inside,to give you varied textures and flavours, making it stand out.
On the outside, a crispy layer of beancurd skin shatters in pieces once you bite into it.
Spring rolls are stuffed with a mixture of spinach and fish paste. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
You get the crunch of chopped water chestnuts together with sweet carrots and the most unusual addition of seaweed lends a savoury flavour to the pork patty.
Braised Chicken Feet here isn’t just a sticky dark brown mess as it’s laced with blended chillies and just a tangy twist, leaving your lips tingling as you slowly savour the deep fried skin and fine flesh underneath it.
During the weekend, look forward to Mustard Greens Rice on Saturday and Long Bean Rice on Sunday too, where the rice is given more flavour with the use of dried mustard greens and chopped long beans.
Cool down with their red bean sago shaved ice dessert that is not too sweet. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Don’t forget to cool down after your meal as this place also offers shaved ice dessert or bao bing like their Red Bean Sago Ice (RM6).
Using smaller size red beans and sago pearls, it’s a brown mess over a mound of finely shaved ice that passes the “not sweet” test for Chinese desserts.
What makes it light and refreshing is they don’t drizzle any milk over the shaved ice, except the red bean mixture that is cooked with coconut milk.
As you slowly eat your way around the mountain, it will slowly collapse into the bowl to create a cold tong sui with the red bean mixture.
The restaurant inside Jinjang Selatan is located at a main thoroughfare for the area. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
This place is definitely worth more visits to try out the rest of the menu including their weekend specials.
There’s a branch located at Bandar Damai Perdana allowing access to those who reside in Cheras.
For Chinese New Year, the restaurant will be closed from February 16 to 18, with business resuming on February 19.
Restoran Dong Sheng Yong Tau Foo
463, Jalan Jambu Air Mawar,
Jinjang Selatan, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 016-9468230
Open: 11am to 9pm. Closed on Wednesday
Facebook: @dongsheng
Instagram: @dong_seng_ytf
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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