Tai Kar Rock (大家樂) is a store that I’ve been visiting with my grandparents since I was a child. A signature ‘Ipoh Dish’, this is Ipoh’s yong tau foo, commonly referred to as ‘liew fun’ or ‘yong liew’ among locals.
Ipoh Yong Tau Foo vs SG Yong Tau Foo
The main difference between Ipoh’s yong tau foo and Singapore’s yong tau foo is that its main highlight is an assortment of fried ‘liew’ ingredients (vegetables, and tofu products stuffed with fish paste etc). Compared to Singapore’s yong tau foo that’s mainly focused on items that are boiled.
Every time I make a trip to Ipoh, Tai Kar Rock is a must-go for me for the dry kway teow and sar kok. This review is based on Tai Kar Rock @ Greentown Corner coffee shop (not the standalone store)
Visiting Tai Kar Rock: Ordering Your Yong Liew
The fun part of eating Ipoh-style yong tau foo is getting to choose your own ingredients! Feels like a buffet except it isn’t. You’ll end up over ordering because you want to try all the different fried stuff!
At Tai Kar Rock, we just queued up in front of the stall and ‘kiap’ (select) the ingredients we wanted from the display into the bowl when we got to the front.
Yong Tau Foo Selection
- Different types of ‘fishballs’
- Tofu stuffed with fish paste
- Fried beancurd skin (Foo Chok / Foo Pei)
- Stuffed fried beancurd skin
- Mixture of stuffed vegetables (bittergourd, chili, brinjal etc)
- Sar kok liew*
*If you’re a tourist, the sar kok liew (沙葛料) is a must-try! It’s something I’ve never seen in Singapore, so I think it’s worth trying. Sar kok is a fried fritter made with jicama (sengkuang), fish paste and seasonings, commonly wrapped in beancurd skin. It is known for its contrast of crispy exterior and crunchy vegetable filling.
The sar kok at Tai Kar Rock is usually in a bowl on the counter and not in the main display.
If you’re unsure what something is, don’t hesitate to ask the staff! They were very friendly and even recommended what’s good.
Sar kok after it’s fried! Looks like a hashbrown, but its totally different in terms of flavour and texture.
The texture is harder than a hashbrown, has more of a bite to it and is denser. The flavour is like sweet and savoury, and pairs really well with the chili they give.
Free Vegetables
While we were there, they offered us free vegetables (chinese cabbage) in our soup which I enjoyed to balance out the oiliness of all the fried goods!
Noodles
No yong tau foo meal is quite complete without noodles. There are many noodle options to choose from including kuey teow, yellow noodles and bee hoon.
You can choose between dry noodles or soup noodles.
My personal go-to choice is always dry kway teow as Ipoh’s kuey teow is different! It’s bouncy, smooth and not cakey.
Dining-in
If you’re dining in, make sure you know your table number as they will bring the food to your table.
For payment by cash, the staff usually collects it after they have served the food to your table 🙂
What We Ordered at Tai Kar Rock
My personal favourite items to order at Tai Kar Rock are:
- Stuffed Bittergourd: Not everyone’s cup of tea, but i LOVE bittergourd
- Foo chuk: who doesn’t love fried beancurd skin 🙂
- Sar kok: for many years, this was THE goated place we visited for sar kok
- Stuffed beancurd skin: crispy outside. soft, bouncy inside. But not disgustingly oily.
- Dry Kway Teow: the flavour is gooooood! Something i didn’t realise until i went somewhere else with mid noodles.
I’m not a fishball fan, but my family always orders a variety of different types of fish and meat balls. I’ve tried the wanton before and the skin is too thick for my liking.
About Tai Kar Rock (大家樂), Ipoh
Tai Kar Rock has a standalone shop located along Jalan Seenivasagam, but the one my family always visits is the stall in a coffee shop called Greentown Corner.
There’s a variety of other stalls located in Greentown Corner if you’re dining in a big group with different food preferences. Other stalls sell chee cheong fun, kai see hor fun, pan mee and more
Tai Kar Rock @ Greentown Corner
Address: 10, Persiaran Greentown 10, Pusat Perdagangan Greentown, 30450 Ipoh, Perak
Tai Kar Rock Restaurant
Address: 22, Jalan Seenivasagam, Kampung Jawa, 30450 Ipoh, Perak