Hidden in Bugis Cube, Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo is a lunch spot beloved by office workers
We always assumed the low-key Bugis Cube would be quite empty — besides the Chinese restaurants lining its first-floor units along the ever-busy North Bridge Road, that is.
We just happened to be in the mall one day during lunch, and noticed a long queue forming outside a shop.
It turns out that it’s actually a legion of office workers queuing for Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo.
A lunch spot popular with nearby workers that’s named Gem Fresh, and is hidden inside a forgotten mall?
I guess you can call it… a hidden gem.
Intrigued by our newest hidden-gem find, we made plans to come back another day — after the lunch rush — so that we won’t have to battle the crowd for seats.
So, is it worth making a trip here, if you aren’t working in, or near, the Bugis area?
Bugis Cube’s hidden-gem yong tau foo
Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo has four different options available for order:
- Yong tau foo (soup or dry, minimum seven pieces, S$7)
- Yong tau foo with noodles/rice (minimum six pieces, S$7)
- Curry/tom yum yong tau foo (soup or dry, minimum seven pieces, S$8)
- Curry/tom yum yong tau foo with noodles/rice (minimum six pieces, S$8)
Every additional piece is priced at S$1.
The display case is teeming with all sorts of goodies, ranging from fresh kangkong, bittergourd, and tau kwa (beancurd) to more interesting stuff including fish maw.
Two of Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo’s most beloved signature items are the braised mushrooms and fried meatballs.
We opted for an order of yong tau foo with mee pok, along with curry yong tau foo with bee hoon.
Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo serves an old-school soybean soup as the default soup base.
Yong tau foo soup is something that seldom blows you away, but we appreciated how this one was a touch sweeter and heartier, and not as mellow as most bowls out there.
As for the curry soup, it is a hard-hitting one with very robust flavours, like a mix of curry mee and laksa broth!
The ingredients that Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo serves are generally fresh and pretty decent, plus they go well with the rich dipping chilli sauce — as a whole, it’s just very simple and comforting fare that most yong tau foo lovers would definitely enjoy.
We were big fans of the fish maw, which was soft and bouncy, and soaked up the broth’s flavour very well.
On the other hand, we didn’t find the best-selling fried meatballs mind-blowing, and instead felt a bit dry and dense — though dipping it in the sauces helped.
Bear in mind, though, that Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo doesn’t put the fried items through the fryer again when you order. Visiting later in the day runs the risk of them sitting out too long, and not maintaining the most optimal texture.
However, from what we’ve heard (and read), the fried meatballs are juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside when fresh.
So, maybe, you need to visit this hidden gem early when everything is fresh to best experience the true Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo?
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the hawker eats most worth trying in Holland Village and the omakase restaurant in Boat Quay that gives unlimited sushi refills!
Tue 10am - 6.30pm
Wed 10am - 6.30pm
Thu 10am - 6.30pm
Fri 10am - 6.30pm
Sat 10am - 6.30pm
- Bugis
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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