Hakka soon kueh was first introduced to me by my grandfather
when I was 5 y.o.. I went to the shop recently and was reminded of
how good they were.
Sink your teeth into the palm-sized soon kueh ($1 each) from The
Beef House in Syed Alwi Road in Jalan Besar and you will appreciate
how it all comes together.
The skin is made the traditional way using mashed steamed yam and
tapioca flour, and it is just thick enough to hold the generous
filling together.
I like how the filling is not dominated by cheaper ingredients like
bangkwang (turnip). It is a decent mix of mushrooms, black fungus,
dried shrimp, yellow tau kwa (beancurd) dices and minced meat.
These are cut just right, not too thick or thin, so there is some
bite.
The friendly stallowner, Mr Chia Teck Kwang, uses a recipe that a
retired Hakka hawker in her 80s passed on to him about 14 years
ago.
She also taught him how to make yam abacus seeds ($2), which are
some of the best I've eaten.
The small flattened yam balls are not oily and have a springy
texture that contrasts nicely with the crunchy black fungus strips,
dried shrimp, minced meat and mushroom.
Mr Chia's other crowd-pullers are Hakka yong tau foo ($3) and beef
ball noodles ($3).
The hardworking 49-year-old, who starts work at his coffee shop
stall at about 3am six days a week, makes everything from scratch,
including the bouncy beef balls, fishballs and fish meat for his
yong tau foo.
He also makes the chilli sauce himself, and takes pride in making
stock with no MSG.
For example, the yong tau foo soup is made by brewing soya beans
for several hours in the water that was used for soaking fishballs.
The tasty beef stock is also simmered for many hours using good
quality meat and bones.
It's no wonder that the Gar Lok Eating House is packed at
lunchtime.
He sells about 400 soon kueh over the weekend when people order
them for functions.
The Beef House
Gar Lok Eating House
217 Syed Alwi Road, S (207776)
Open: 8am to 6pm, closed on Fridays
Tel: 9821-5463