KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — When it comes to yong tau foo at this Kepong eatery, the sky’s the limit.

Their riffs of everyone’s favourite have them stuffing their fish and pork paste in spicy luncheon meat, eggs, mantou, Chinese cabbage, seaweed and bacon.

It doesn’t stop there as you may find an innocent looking fuchok roll being transformed to a potent spicy monster with fiery chilli paste.

One may say it’s gimmicky but it works.

Their ‘yong tau foo’ is stuffed only on order, keeping it fresh and crispy especially for the deep fried items. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Much care is taken to ensure the yong tau foo is prepared freshly, at the point of order.

It may take more time for them to prepare the food but the reward is delicious yong tau foo.

As they’re freshly fried, the brinjal and bitter gourd wasn’t soaked in oil like pre-fried items tend to be.

They’re well fried too with a light golden colour.

Sar kot liew, usually found in Ipoh, is my kryptonite. Sadly, this one was over fried, making each bite tortuous.

Luckily, the Kangsar fried bean curd made up for that disappointment. These were so tasty with a richer taste of soymilk that I wished I had a whole plate to just snack on.

Pump up the greens in your bowl of ‘yong tau foo’ by adding ‘sayur manis’. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Even the soup served with the yong tau foo is good with distinct ikan bilis flavour. What I liked too was I could add extra vegetables for RM2.20 in my soup, like sayur manis, usually found in pan mee. You can also add spinach.

Inside the bowl, there’s a dumpling with a century egg (RM3). While the skin is silky and it’s a bountiful chunk of meat, the use of the century egg didn’t make much difference to the flavour.

Puffy Bentong beancurd puffs stuffed to the brim with their fish and pork paste are studded with pickled vegetables. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

What I enjoyed better were the stuffed Bentong tofu puffs. The huge puffs have a fluffy texture, contrasting well with the meaty bite of fish and pork. There’s also a variant studded with cha choy or pickled vegetables. This is RM3 a piece compared to the plain one priced at RM2.20.

Crunch down on this plate of crispy fried enoki mushrooms. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Since there’s enoki mushrooms on the menu, they offer a fried version too. For RM3.50, I got a mountain of crunchiness.

The fine stalks of the mushrooms are coated in a batter, giving it a shattering crunch. Take your time to enjoy each stalk slowly, as you chat with your dining companions.

‘Fuchok’ roll is transformed into a spicy monster with the use of potent chilli paste. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

If you’re a chilli fiend, their spicy beancurd roll (RM3) is the best to tickle your fancy. With three levels of spiciness, even the normal spicy can burn a bit already. One can imagine the super spicy may blow your head off, if you’re not used to the heat level.

The coriander chilli fish ball (RM3) which is shaped more like a tubular fried fish cake, pairs juicy fish paste with bits of coriander and fiery chilli, making it something I would order again as it’s packed with flavour. There are a few variations, including a soup version.

Tubular fish cake is enhanced with coriander and chopped chillies for more flavour and spiciness. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Most of the items are RM2.20 each. Some items like the spicy luncheon meat and fried bacon cost RM3.50 each.

Usually, one will just tick the order sheet for the items you want. Here, if you don’t read Chinese, it’s going to be a difficult task since the order sheet is all in Chinese. Luckily, they do let you verbally place your orders and they will tick the sheet for you.

I also stumbled upon a weekly ritual on Friday… a fruit stall pop-up operated by one of the family members.

On Friday, you can pick up fresh fruits and even cowslip creeper blossoms, brought in from Ipoh and Teluk Intan. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

You get guava, papaya, various types of bananas including the rarely seen finger variant and more, sourced from Teluk Intan. There’s even pomelo from Ipoh.

There are also cowslip creeper flowers, which you can stir fry or make into an omelette, at home.

A group of regulars buy up all the items and once their shopping is done, they will dine on yong tau foo.

The restaurant is decorated with ‘yong tau foo’ cartoon characters and pictures of their diners. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

If you’re unfamiliar with the area, you can also kill two birds with one stone as the pork noodles at Restoran YT Tiga Dua is located at the other side of the road.

Ah Huat Yong Tau Foo, 22, Jalan Seri Bintang 4, Taman Sri Bintang, Kepong, KL. Open: 11am to 8pm. Closed on Monday. Tel:012-6469345.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.

The restaurant sits at the corner of the end of the road and opposite the recreational centre. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi