Yong Tau Foo Stall That Took Over Famed China Street Rickshaw Noodle Closes After 1 Month
China Street Rickshaw Noodle at Maxwell Food Centre is well-known for its traditional trishaw noodles, which hawker Soh Poh Tee sells at just $1 a bowl. The dish was originally created for old-time trishaw pullers who needed a cheap, nourishing meal after a hard day’s work.
In May this year, Mdm Soh, who is 77, decided to close her longtime stall for good after suffering a hand injury from a fall. In a Shin Min Daily News report, a hawker rep for Maxwell Food Centre tells the Chinese news outlet that Mdm Soh got injured in March, which affected her ability to cook. Due to her injury and age, she decided to wind up her longtime stall, which also served tasty mee sua.
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Photo: Yip Jieying
Replaced by yong tau foo stall
Unlike fellow Maxwell stall China Street Fritters, Mdm Soh was reportedly reluctant to sell her recipes as she was concerned that the buyer wouldn’t do them justice. According to the hawker centre’s rep, Mdm Soh could not bear to give up her unit and decided to rope in a business partner to set up a yong tau foo stall there called... Yong Tau Foo. The partner told Shin Min that the new stall opened on May 23, but declined to give more details.
Photo: Yip Jieying
Yong tau foo stall closes down after just one month
In a surprise twist of events, Yong Tau Foo has closed down just after a month in business. 8days.sg dropped by Maxwell Food Centre yesterday (Jun 24) just in time to see the stall being stripped of its kitchen equipment. Workers also arrived shortly to dismantle the display counter for yong tau foo ingredients.
A China-born lady was helping the workers with the dismantling, though she denied that she was working for the stall upon our enquiry. While she declined to go into detail about what happened to the stall, she revealed to us in Mandarin that the yong tau foo joint had closed so quickly as “business was bad — it’s hard for stalls to survive here”. When we asked about Mdm Soh, who wasn't at the hawker centre, the lady said it was difficult for the elderly hawker to continue working given her advanced age and injury.
Photo: Yip Jieying
Mdm Soh is apparently still active at the hawker centre
The owner of next-door drinks stall Coffee Queen, who gave her name only as Grace, shared with 8days.sg that Mdm Soh had gone for hand surgery but still had trouble with movement. “But she asked me to help her buy a tray of eggs yesterday,” Grace said, gesturing to the tray that Mdm Soh had yet to drop by to claim.
For those who still want a taste of old-school trishaw noodles, check out this hawker stall in Jurong East.
