Legendary supper spot Soon Li Yong Tau Foo's stall owner dies unexpectedly, diner 'just saw him Monday morning'

Chances are if you are a yong tau foo fan or night owl, you would've eaten at legendary supper spot Soon Li Yong Tau Foo.

It's not uncommon for the hawker stall, located at the Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre, to have a queue even before it opens.

In a Facebook post on local foodie group Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 dated Feb 22, Melvin Chew shared the sad news that the yong tau foo stall owner "passed on this morning". 

The news of the hawker uncle's sudden death shocked many Singaporeans, with one customer named Edwin David Goh commenting, "I just saw him on Monday morning, he was in front of his stall cutting tau kee."

The uncle's wife told Lianhe Zaobao that she is busy preparing for the funeral, and has no plans at the moment to reopen the stall.

The elderly couple, who have no children, just returned from a Batam vacation when he fell ill and was admitted to hospital where he died on Wednesday morning.

Soon Li Yong Tau Foo was a husband-and-wife operation. 

Just reopened recently

They only just reopened last month after being closed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. According to sethlui.com, the "stall uncle did not want to operate under the restrictions" as it would've "caused him more trouble and discomfort when cooking with a mask on". 

Tributes started pouring in online from the local foodie community.

Local food publication Miss Tam Chiak posted on their Facebook page, stating that Soon Li uncle's “yong tau foo will always be a legend to all the night owls”.

Netizens also remembered the departed uncle beyond his food with one Facebook user stating that he was a kind neighbour who recently helped one of his fellow stallholders change a broken water tap.

Despite operating from midnight to 3am, customers were in for quite the wait at Soon Li. The snaking queue of customers sometimes meant a waiting time of up to two hours.

Besides the queue, the stall owners were notorious for their no-nonsense attitude towards customers especially when it came to orders. A diner who took their time ordering could get an earful from the pair. 

Nonetheless, the food was worth the wait for many as Soon Li boasted the largest selection of yong tau foo items bar none. They had roasted and braised pork belly and innards, unlike other stalls.

Their ikan bilis soup, served in their signature metal bowl, had a clean yet hearty taste and complemented the rich fried lard pieces that came with the noodles. 

Losing our hawkers

The local hawker scene has been rocked by a number of deaths in the last few months.

Last November, local foodies lamented the loss of Geylang Lorong 29 Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee founder Alex.

The "giant of Hokkien mee" was frequently seen at the stall even though he was already retired at that point in time.

The Hokkien mee stall, located along East Coast Road, continues to operate under the operation of his daughter and her husband. 

In October last year, the founder of the famous Koh Brother Pig's Organ Soup at Tiong Bahru Market died at age 84.

The stall was the first pig's organ soup stall to be awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand Singapore in 2019.

timothywee@asiaone.com

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