Ah Lock (Yishun Park Hawker)

Much talk has been going around ALC Rice Bowls that had been recently revamped from the former Ah Lock & Co that is situated at Guoco Tower recently, but it has since been a while since we had visited the OG folks that had brought the Hakka Tofu Bowls to the local F&B scene; Ah Lock 豆腐店. Ah Lock 豆腐店 was quite a thing since its inception; the concept debuted along with the opening of Yishun Park Hawker Centre back then, and Ah Lock 豆腐店 was quite the thing back then being a hawker stall that was part of the Timbre+ Hawkerpreneurs Incubation Program. Whilst at its height, Ah Lock 豆腐店 expanded its operations with Ah Lock Kitchen that operated at quite a number of coffeeshops and even at other hawker centres; Ah Lock & Co being a standalone concept that also stocked limited flavours of Munchi Pancakes’ offerings at Guoco Tower. While the other locations with the exception of ALC Rice Bowls having come and go in the past couple of years, the Yishun Park Hawker Centre is the only location still run as Ah Lock 豆腐店 and stays true to its original form — its offerings limited to just the Hakka Tofu Bowl and Thunder Tea Tofu Bowl.

Swung by Ah Lock 豆腐店 on a weekday dinner and was told that they were left with the last bowl available for the day — they had also run out of Mani Cai that would usually come with the dish as well; this leaves our Hakka Tofu Bowl to consist of elements such as the Hakka Tofu, Hakka Meatball, Tofu, Long Beans and Mayonnaise. There is also a sprinkle of sesame seeds and seaweed atop as well. The plating of the dish sans the Mani Cai still remains very familiar to what they had been doing, less the alfalfa sprouts which has also seemed to have fallen out of favour in recent times in the F&B scene in general. Ah Lock 豆腐店 in the only location that was once part of the Ah Lock branding that still serves up their Hakka Tofu and Hakka Meatballs with pork (since ALC Rice Bowls is a halal concept); the tofu still comes all smooth whilst stuffed with minced pork in the middle, while the Hakka Meatball reminded us about why we fell in love with Ah Lock 豆腐店 in the first place — the Hakka Meatballs came lined with beancurd sheet at the bottom, whilst they are deep-fried to carry this savoury and meaty note that is crisp on the exterior yet juicy inside, while not being particularly greasy as well. The long beans was also a key factor that provided a variance of textures for the dish adding a good crunch to the pearly short-grain rice beneath and soft chunks of tofu as well.

The mayonnaise was one thing that we never figured out on the elements that it comprises of — there is definitely a hint of savouriness that came with the creaminess that isn’t quite simply just the usual mayonnaise; all that whilst binding the various elements altogether with a slight contrast of flavour. We always like dousing the chili into the entire bowl so that all of the elements carry this zippy, tangy and slightly spicy note that those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness can handle — works especially well with some of the elements such as the rice, seaweed and long beans. There have been a few times where we had dropped by the other Ah Lock-branded concepts and felt that things aren’t quite it there especially closer to the end of life of the brands — that being said, Ah Lock 豆腐店 still seems to stay true to the ideas that the brand was founded upon; serving up Hakka-style Yong Tao Foo-inspired rice bowls in a form that is influenced by that of the Japanese Donburi. For those still wanting a taste of Ah Lock 豆腐店’s Hakka Tofu Bowls in its truest form, Ah Lock 豆腐店 at Yishun Park Hawker Centre is still the spot to head to!

Everything in the bowl complements well with each other. Lots of veggies too. V flavourful, love it and leaves me craving for it!

The combination between jap rice,veggie, fried tofu, meatballs, and seaweed, really work well and taste good.
💰$5.5.
📍Ah Lock Tofu.
51 Yishun Ave 11, #01-08.
Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

As someone who dislikes vegetables, this was delicious for me still!! The different ingredients went very well with each other, giving an Unami taste overall. I love the meat with Tau pok especially. Highly recommended for everyone 👍🏽

Went at around 1.30pm and didn’t need to wait Long (Around 5-10 minutes)

It’s like local tofu donburi. It’s incredibly delicious. They used japanese pearl rice topped with everything nice. The sauce that they use, the type of tofu, the seasoning of the fried meatball, the alfalfa, seaweed flakes and all complemented each other very well.

I lost count the amount of people staying in Yishun I converted into an ah lock fan. My fiancé who isn’t big on healthy food ended up as a regular.

This bowl of hakka YTF with thunder rice ($6.80) is quite a unique fusion "don".
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First up, I loved the meatballs and stuffed tau pok. They were flavourful and had a meaty juiciness complemented by a nice crispiness.
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Plus the rice itself was a great mix of textures, as the crunchiness of the different greens combined with the short grained rice and sauce. The earthy taste profile of the rice and the thunder tea simply provided so much comfort.