Ampang Yong Tow Foo - Feb 6, 2009

February 13, 2009

I sometimes wonder whether Yong Tow Foo truly originates from Foong Foong in Ampang old town. Today, you find it everywhere... in food courts, kopi tiam... in KL, Ipoh, JB and even in Singapore and it is generically known as Ampang Yong Tow Foo. So, I feel extremely privileged to be a KL-lite and have Ampang Yong Tow Foo right at home.

It is also one of my favorite place to bring guests to. This time I have several colleagues in town. So, as usual, my chance to play food ambassador and continue to enforce KL's reputation as a destination for good food.

Foong Foong operates very efficiently. At the counter, a staff would record down your order and then broadcast it over the PA system. The kitchen is an open kitchen, situated beside the restaurant. There you will find the staff busy stuffing the vegetable and the beancurd, some preparing the dumplings and some frying the stuffed vegetable. Another staff would confirm the order at the kitchen and prepares the orders.

We had our order served in 5 minutes after we were seated. I ordered 20 pieces of yong tow foo, 10 pieces of fried dumpling and 10 pieces dumpling soup for the four of us. Since, the yong tow foo were made fresh, they look whole and appetizing unlike the shrivelled ones you get at the food court.

The yong tow foo is stuffed with fish paste while the dumplings, I believe may be mixed with some pork and chopped chives. The fried dumpling is my favorite... I think I can eat 10 in one go. : )

I like to think that this is quite a healthy meal. Have the yong tow foo by itself without rice. Reasonably priced too... If I recall correctly about RM0.80 per piece, which worked out to be around RM40 for the entire meal including drinks.

How to get there? From town, get on Jalan Tun Razak, head towards north... After passing Ampang Park, stay left and turn off into the Ampang expressway. Go till the end and once you exit the highway, turn left into the old Jalan Ampang. Go straight until you see the police station. Then just follow the road and make a right turn at the first traffic light and then another right at the next traffic light. You will Foong Foong on your left. Just note, that there is another yong tow foo restaurant next door. For the original yong tow foo, make sure it is Foong Foong ok...