Yalong Bay – Hidden Gem In Toa Payoh With One Of The Best Hor Fun Around

Tucked away on the second floor of a secluded office area in Toa Payoh North, you’d never expect to find an air-conditioned food court with beer fridges lining the entire width of it. With only one stall open in the evening, it’s safe to say it’s pretty much Yalong Bay’s territory.

Founded by Chef Tony Tan of Lei Garden Restaurant, Yalong Bay serves up innovative Chinese signature dishes at wallet-friendly prices. Among their many prized dishes, the one dish that appealed to us most was their Signature crispy la-la hor fun and we kid you not when we say that this was one of the best hor fun dishes we have ever tasted—wok hei and all. 

While most people normally come here for their flambeéd whole chicken—that requires a prior booking of minimum 3 days—, we went for their other signature dishes instead.

It didn’t take long for our dishes to start arriving. Though we ordered the smallest portion available, their Signature Crispy La-La Hor Fun (S$17) was still a massively large bowl generously filled with lala-infused hor fun gravy and lala, with a mix of soft gooey ho fun contrasting with the crispy deep fried toppings.

Topped with shards of crispy deep-fried wonton skins and filled generously with lala, this could easily be a one-dish-wonder. It might not seem like much but trust us when we tell you that it is seriously legit. Boasting an incredible wok hei flavour and aroma, every mouthful was a savoury and delightful experience—both for the tongue and the nose.

Their Hotplate Tofu (S$10) arrived bubbling and sizzling, just the way we like it. Their tofu is all homemade, which made for an extra smooth texture. With tons of savoury sauce generously coating the bed of vegetables, prawns and minced meat, it was comforting and just the perfect dish to have alongside a bowl of white rice. 

We also ordered their Salted Egg Prawn (S$20), albeit by accident (we originally ordered the Salted Egg Chicken). The fresh crunchy prawns were curled into a compact ball before being deep fried.

The light crisp coating readily soaked up the salted egg sauce, leaving a delectable grainy mouthfeel signature of all good salted egg dishes.

Another dish was their Dry Hor Fun with Egg (S$5). Relatively unpretentious, the hor fun had plenty of ingredients within the hearty portion.

It was also served with a raw egg yolk on top, which coated the noodles when mixed in, partially cooking from the latent heat from the hor fun and providing the dish with an added richness. It made for a much more creamier noodle dish than the normal dry hor fun which we enjoyed a lot.

The last dish was their Chef’s Signature Pork Rib with Rice (S$5). Perhaps it might be due to the extended period of time we left it on the table before we managed to get around to eating it, but we found the relatively dry pieces of meat unimpressive. The dark sauce was a sweet-savoury blend, but it didn’t do much for us. It is, however, quite filling for its price.

With its inconvenient location and limited parking lots, it might seem like a hassle to travel all the way there just for food. But, trust us when we say the journey is worth it. In fact, you’d regret not going sooner.

Yalong Bay
978 Toa Payoh North
#02-01 Grains & Hops
Singapore 319001
Tel: +65 8457 4885
Daily: 11am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Braddell