Pang’s Hakka yong tau foo opening 2nd outlet in Yishun, cult fave thunder tea rice back on menu at cheaper price
8days.sg enjoyed the tasty grub at Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo when we visited the Bukit Merah stall in March this year. Now, pastry chef-turned-hawker towkay Pang Kok Keong, founder of defunct French patisserie Antoinette and consultant for cafe chain Surrey Hills, is opening the brand's second outlet in Yishun on 20 September. He tells 8days.sg that he decided to set up shop at Yishun as he “doesn’t think there are [other stalls selling] thunder tea rice there”.
Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo at Bukit Merah
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Technically, the Yishun outlet marks his sixth time opening a Pang's hawker stall. The first four outlets closed down due to poor footfall in quieter locales, coupled with rental issues. Thankfully, he has had better luck with his newest Bukit Merah shop, which opened to long lines back in March. He tells 8days.sg that business “has stabilised after a few months” and the stall “still has short queues during peak meal periods and on weekends”. At the upcoming Yishun branch, Chef Pang will reintroduce Pang’s Hakka Thunder Tea Rice ($5.90) — it was a cult favourite back when he used to sell it online before starting his hawker biz.
The chef briefly sold his thunder tea rice back in 2020 when he ran Pang’s Hakka Delicacies, a mostly online biz during the Covid period. Back then, he sold the dish at $8 per set, but he has now lowered the price to $5.90 a bowl to make it hawker food-friendly.
Pang’s thunder tea rice takes six hours to prepare
Why did it take so long to reintroduce what we call the original grain bowl? Well, Hakka thunder tea rice (lei cha in Mandarin) is made with multiple wholesome ingredients like assorted and meticulously chopped veggies, tofu, kidney beans, chai poh, roasted peanuts, crispy ikan bilis and brown rice. It comes with an herbaceous ‘pesto tea’ soup with ground coriander, mint, mugwort and basil which you’re supposed to pour over the rice (we do it in tiny increments). It sounds kinda weird on paper and can be polarising, but 8days.sg recently sampled Pang’s updated version and his thunder tea rice is super delicious. Ironically, there’s no Chinese tea in this version. Pang says he omitted the tea so people of all ages, including kids, can eat it. Perfect for those who don’t like their lei cha too bitter.
His version is full of textural contrast with the crunch of deeply roasted nuts, crispy, salty pops of fresh ikan bilis and preserved radish, all mellowed by juicy veg like crunchy wing beans. Nutty brown rice and herby soup (don’t add too much hot water for a more ‘gao’ flavour) add complexity to the antioxidant-rich dish. This is one thunder tea rice worth eating.
Chef Pang describes it as “a very labour intensive dish to make”. It takes an average of six hours to prep just 50 portions. The herb leaves are first “hand-plucked”, then “quickly blanched and soaked in iced water, before being blended with roasted and shelled peanuts and sesame seeds” to form the paste for the tea. Among multiple other steps.
Chef Pang says that he considered opening a separate stall to sell just thunder tea rice, but decided it was “more efficient to offer it at the current outlets”. Luckily for fans of the dish, it will be available daily at both branches.
Both outlets will have the same menu
The new Yishun outlet will debut Chef Pang’s thunder tea rice first, and it will be available at Bukit Merah two weeks later. Both outlets share the same menu, which includes dishes like Pang’s Signature Hakka Yong Tau Foo Noodles ($6.80), Traditional Hakka YTF Noodles ($5.30), Curry Hakka YTF Noodle ($5.80), and sides like yummy Signature Abacus Seeds ($6) and Hakka Meatballs ($4).
Pang tells 8days.sg that while he has plans to open more hawker stalls, “there’s no rush” as he “wants to make sure the quality is consistent at both stalls before expanding further”.
Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo opens tentatively on 20 Sept at #01-335 Blk 470B, Yishun St. 42. Open daily 8am - 8pm. Its other branch is at Get Together Coffeeshop, #01-5134 Blk 2 Jln Bukit Merah (opp ABC hawker centre), S150002. Open daily 9.30am - 8pm. More info via Facebook and Instagram.
Photos: Alvin Teo, Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo
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