New Horse Noodles: Food vloggers-turned-hawkers Troy and Scott Lee serve up Malaysian Hakka yong tau foo

Singapore has no shortage of food vloggers documenting their latest hawker finds. Far fewer decide to put down the camera, step behind the counter and become full-time hawkers themselves.

In June, brothers Troy Lee, 31 and Scott Lee, 29, did exactly that. At New Horse Noodles, a corner stall in Chinatown Complex Food Centre, the food lovers serve Malaysian-style dark-sauce noodles alongside handmade Hakka yong tau foo. 

Unlike the predominantly fish-paste versions commonly found in Singapore, the brothers’ Hakka yong tau foo features a pork-based filling made with seafood and more than 10 ingredients. Each piece is stuffed by hand, resulting in a meatier texture and a more layered aroma and flavour. 

The move has taken Troy and Scott from recommending hawker meals to creating their own dishes. It has also brought long hours, sharply lower earnings and a new appreciation of what goes into even a seemingly simple hawker dish. 

Since our interview with them, the brothers have sadly announced that they will be closing the stall for good on October 25. So do head down to support these hawkers and try their food before they say goodbye! 

From finance to food tours and vlogs

Before New Horse Noodles, both brothers worked in finance-related fields. Scott was a product manager for a mobile trading platform in fintech, while Troy is a self-employed long-term stock trader.

Scott’s pivot towards food began after he left fintech in August 2025, and spent about one-and-a-half months travelling around China.

“Many locals there treated me like their brother or family,” Scott recalls. “They brought me to eat so much local food and introduced me to their culture too. I loved it.”

When he returned, he and Troy wondered what kind of work could offer more of those interactions. Their answer was to experiment with food and photography tours for visitors to Singapore.

Without the licence required for paid tours, they approached tourists on the street and took them around for free, filming the experience as they went. Some guests later told the brothers that the S$5 hawker meals they introduced to were better than local dishes they had tried in restaurants for S$50.

After eating widely through the tours, the brothers started food vlogging around the end of last year. On Instagram, Scott runs @foodiepapa.sg, an English-language account focused largely on Singapore hawker food, while Troy runs @1honestfoodie and reviews food in Mandarin. 

Their videos gravitate towards local hawker food such as Hokkien mee, char kway teow and curry noodles. 

While busy hawker life has meant much less time for food reviews, they still vlog about their hawker experience at New Horse Noodles’ own Instagram and Facebook pages.

Becoming hawkers 

As Scott tells us, his decision to leave fintech was driven by a lack of internal sense of purpose and growth. 

“Becoming a hawker means that I am paid much less and it’s very tiring,” he says. “But it brings me more joy internally.”

Nowadays, I wake up with a very clear purpose: To improve my food every day so we can create the best dishes and reach as many people as possible,” he adds.

As for Troy, he remains self-employed and continues long-term stock trading as his primary source of income. When Scott suggested starting their own stall, he was on board immediately. 

“I needed a challenge and something I could dedicate my energy to,” Troy says. “And I was greedy and wanted to eat the type of dark-sauce noodles I couldn’t find in Singapore. So I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s do it!’” 

Initially, the brothers wanted to sell Malaysian dark-sauce noodles with fishballs, but felt that even a well-made yellowtail fishball might not make a strong enough impression on most diners. A trip to Malaysia gave them some much-needed inspiration. 

While food vlogging in Malacca, the brothers ate at a small Hakka yong tau foo stall run by an 85-year-old woman. Troy’s first reaction was that the food tasted “magical”.

As the hawker’s children and grandchildren did not want to take over the recipe, she readily agreed to teach the brothers. They stayed in a nearby Airbnb and spent about 10 days learning from her and doing their own R&D. 

Some ingredients they needed are unavailable here, and her process of deboning and chopping fresh fish could not be replicated at scale — the brothers ended up making substitutions and reduced the salt levels for Singapore diners.

“Our mentor uses more of her instinct, as with most experienced chefs,” Troy says. “We can do exactly as she said, but there will still be some differences. It’s more of an art than a science.”

A unique version of yong tau foo 

Unlike the fish paste-heavy yong tau foo commonly found in Singapore, the brothers’ closely guarded Hakka-style filling is pork-based and contains more than 10 ingredients.

“The aroma is different, as pork is much more flavourful than fish,” Troy says. “When you add seafood, it adds a different layer of fragrance, too.”

Rather than offer the familiar pick-and-choose display with dozens of ingredients, New Horse Noodles keeps its menu to one set: Malaysian style dark-sauce noodles with five pieces of yong tau foo. 

Diners can request swaps if they dislike certain items such as bittergourd. 

For the brothers, the compact format is about prioritising quality over quantity and avoiding ready-made ingredients such as sausages. 

Their dark-sauce noodles are not traditional Hakka noodles, but an expression of the Malaysian-style dry noodles the brothers love. The sauce is aromatic and savoury rather than very sweet, while a low-alkaline noodle restrains the characteristic strong smell.

Our food review

The Hakka yong tau foo set (S$6.50) arrives as two complementary parts: A bowl of dark-sauce noodles and a comforting soup holding five handmade yong tau foo pieces, along with other vegetables such as carrot and xiao bai cai. 

We were big fans of the Malaysian style dark-sauce noodles. Springy and evenly coated, the sauce brought savoury depth without the cloying sweetness associated with some dark soy sauces. The minced pork, fried shallots, and crisp pork lard added texture and richness.

In the yong tau foo soup are tau pok (tofu puffs), tofu, two slices of tau kee (beancurd skin) and bittergourd, each carrying the brothers’ aromatic pork-and-seafood filling. Taken together, the pieces feel more robust and meaty than the smoother, predominantly fish-paste versions many diners may be used to. Additional pieces of yong tau foo may also be added at S$1.50. 

The addition of carrot lends a gentle sweetness, while the xiao bai cai and radish are fresh. The soup itself is clean and light, contrasting well with the more savoury noodles.

For extra flavour, add the fried meatballs (S$2.50 for three pieces). Crisp on the outside and springy within, they extend the same pork-forward appeal beyond the soup bowl. I did find them a touch dry on their own, so they are best paired with the dark-sauce noodles. 

Hard work and future plans

The brothers share that it cost an estimated S$15,000 to S$20,000 to set up their stall. As of August, their monthly overheads include around S$1,900 in rent, a S$200 town council fee and a S$475 cleaning fee, before ingredients and other operating expenses are counted.

In July, they took home slightly more than S$1,000 after expenses, and worked around 70 hours a week. Prep begins at about 6am, and their mother sometimes steps in when they need help stuffing the yong tau foo.

The adjustment has been stark. Troy says they return home after sunset, shower, sleep and repeat. 

Scott now regards office work as much easier. Yet the harder work has not erased the meaning he’s been searching for. 

Troy’s ongoing trading income also makes the transition more sustainable for him, rather than relying on the stall alone.

Becoming hawkers has changed the way the brothers think about the stalls they once reviewed, too. 

“Every hawker wants the best for their food. Nobody wakes up and thinks, ‘Let me cook a lousy meal,’” Troy reflects. “So everyone is doing their best.”

That does not mean they are less exacting about their own cooking. They emphasise freshness in the form of no pre-packed shallots, no excessive MSG, and reducing salt to cater to local taste buds. 

Being filmed and reviewed themselves feels relatively normal after so much time in front of cameras. Negative feedback used to occupy Scott’s thoughts, but he has become more accepting of taste’s subjectivity.

“As long as you put yourself out there, there will be people who like and hate you,” he says. “It’s just part of the game I have signed up for.”

He adds, “Some people like our food and some don’t. I have come to realise that it’s not something I can control, and just do my best.”

After our interview with them, the brothers have told us that they will be shuttering the stall on October 25. They briefly shared that after experiencing being a hawker the past few months, the lifestyle was not something they wanted. 

After hearing all their struggles regarding earnings and the amount of work they put in, we can certainly empathise. We applaud them for taking the risk to start up a hawker food business,  rather than let their passion lie dormant. 

If you are in the Chinatown area or simply want to support these young hawkers before they close up shop, head down to New Horse Noodles and try the yong tau foo and dark-sauce noodles!

For more ideas on what to eat in Chinatown, check out this new omurice hawker stall, or this shio pan cafe!