YONG TAU FOO STALL - March 2020
The brief...
It's March 2020, I've just returned from the USA from my trip to visit graduate schools and COVID-19 is rocking the world. I proceed to stay home for the next 14 days, which obviously is great for itchy crafty hands like mine. In a spur of the moment, I decide to make a dish I always crave when abroad - not just a dish but a whole stall dedicated to it. Thus began two full days of backbreaking work to achieve this lofty spontaneous decision.
Noodle cooking station
Close-up shot of the ingredients
The Ingredients...
For anyone who is less familiar about the dish, Yong Tau Foo is a hawker dish in Singapore that translates to 'Stuffed Tofu'. Essentially, the stalls put out trays of ingredients - usually stuffed full with fish paste (that white thing you see in most of the ingredients). From vegetables to tofus, meats, processed meats etc etc. One can just pick whatever ingredient he or she fancies, the type of noodle, and if they would like it in soup, or as a dry noodle with soup on the side. Personally, it is one of my favorite dishes in Singapore, espescially as I drown my noodles in some of that good ol' homemade chilli paste...mmmm......
I recently purchased a cheap foldable light box and decided to try snapping pictures of my ingredients using it and my iPhone SE camera. The results turned out pretty good!
The Process...
To begin with, I decided to upgrade a roadside stall I had made a couple of years back by adding 'tiers' onto it, using popsicle sticks. These trays were filled with mini aluminium trays and plates that I got for really cheap!! (like 20pence each) at the London dollhouse festival 2019. What a steal hehe ✌️
Then, I started working on colouring the clay and making the individual ingredients! Attached are some raw shots of the ingredients and videos of the making process.
Next came the tedious process of touching up each item, varnishing individually with nail polish after they have dried, and then eventually arranging and gluing them into their respective trays! Watch the trays get filled below:
With the trays filled and stall close to completion, my hands still felt itchy and something felt missing.
Cue two hours of cutting popsicle sticks and dealing with superglue - a noodle cooking counter ( with an in-counter pot!) was born.
Didn't feel the most satisfied with this counter - something still felt lacking, so I did a final few tweaks, built a little more on the counter, made the signboard and voila - the final product! Check out the tour below😊
Till next time!