Makansutra: Perfect pork patties at Chong's Hakka Yong Tau Foo
Entrepreneur Raye Tan brings gumption and drive to her latest business - Hakka yong tau foo
If a failure stops you, then you are not much of an entrepreneur.
The hardcore ones are not even worried about their skill and knowledge level when they want to make things better for themselves and the world.
When I first met Ms Raye Tan, I knew she had a lot more than what the usual single-minded business folks have - gumption and guts.
This serial entrepreneur was the first to open a pet cafe in Singapore, in 2001.
She then sold it for a tidy sum in 2014, took a break and became stressed and depressed (perhaps her entrepreneurial itch was too intense).
She set up a cookie cafe but had to close because "the product had limited reach".
Then, two years ago, she set up her little hawker stall Chong's Hakka Yong Tau Foo at St George's Lane, specialising in just five items using her mother's recipe.
This Hakka lass certainly has "ownership" of this Hakka dish - she knew what the good ones were like and went into the kitchen to recreate that sensation.
Many yong tau foo offerings today are made with a strange stuffing that is supposed to be fish paste, but feels like it came off a petri dish in a science lab.
Raye's version is hardcore.
The amount of effort she puts into hand-blending bits of water chestnuts into the minced pork patty shows when you take that first bite, especially the stuffed bittergourd slice.
It comes chunky, meaty and soft, like a good pork patty should.
It is turned into five items - stuffed bittergourd, small and large tau pok, tau kua and bean skin roll.
Each piece is a joy to sink your teeth into and it reminds me of how it was back in the day before fish paste entered the scene to please non-pork lovers.
Her soup, which to some of her customers may feel rather strange, can still make them come back for more. It is made with lots of soy beans and bones, with some basic seasoning. It is rich and flavourful.
BLACK MUSHROOMS
Her Hakka noodles - sometimes blanched a little softer than I like - comes with a rough pork mince, plus generous bits of black mushrooms done with rich and savoury seasoning.
Her sets start at $3.50 (three pieces with noodles) and $4.50 (six pieces with noodles).
And her chilli sauce tastes nothing like the familiar-tasting store-bought ones you get at most stalls.
She blends garlic with chilli (this one rocks) and she makes her own brown sauce.
Now, her small operation looks like some pop-up - you can tell by the simple induction pots and supermarket-bought home steamers that warm her minced meat.
But I think all that will change when she starts handling a bigger crowd, as this serial entrepreneur will bend and twist her way to get things right.
Chong's Hakka Yong Tau Foo
Block 3, St George's Lane
7.30am to 2pm daily
K.F. Seetoh, the founder of Makansutra, dabbles in street food businesses like Food Markets and has his own TV shows on cable. He publishes food guides and online content. He is also the creator of the World Street Food Congress. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
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