This dish is another example of the ready adoption of Chinese noodle dishes into Thai food culture, particularly in places like Phuket with its deep Hokkien-Chinese roots. Its Chinese antecedent is known as yong tau foo and originated among the Hakka-speaking people of Southern China.
During its transition to Thai cuisine the dish has undergone an almost complete transformation, with only its name linking it back to its distant Chinese ancestor.
Thai yentafo is characterised by its pink coloured broth, with its unusual colour coming from the unique fermented bean paste used to flavour a pork bone stock base and, more often than not, a dash of food colouring and some chicken blood to liven things up.
Like most noodle soup dishes in Thailand, the ingredients can vary. Normally, however, it is served with thick rice noodles but you can usually request any noodle you like.
Then a range of other ingredients are added according to the chef’s or diner’s preference. Most often you will get some fish balls, fish cake or squid, some mushroom or fungi, and it will be topped off with a pinch of chopped chives and a won-ton wrapper that has been deep-fried to give it a crisp, crunchy texture and bright yellow colour.
As with many Thai dishes, the variations on this theme are manifold, but you can assume that most of them will include these ingredients.
One of my favourite restaurants for this dish is Anda Yentafo, located in the heart of Phuket Town just near the Royal Phuket City Hotel. It is located in a small soi off Tilok-U-Thit 2 Rd, where it meets Phang Nga Rd, and is the main branch of the family-run enterprise which opens 24 hours a day.
Their two other branches are located in Phra Baramee Rd, Patong and in Sakdidet Rd which leads to Cape Panwa.
Running restaurants has been in the family for a long time for owner Arcaede Thongyon, whose parents ran a noodle shop in their home province of Udon Thani.
“My family ran a noodle shop in Udon Thani before I was born, so I grew up in one,” said Mr Arcaede.
“I opened this yentafo shop because I love to do it and our shop is the first in Phuket that specialises in seafood yentafo.
“Now we have three yentafo noodle shops, and in the future we want to have more one more in Kathu. We are now is in the process of finding the land to open it, but is not easy.”
Mr Arcaede is understandably proud of his signature seafood yentafo as can be seen from the giant plastic bowl of noodles sign on top of the shop.
“The secret is in the sweet, tangy, spicy red sauce that gives this dish its iconic colour and flavour, other than that it’s just a simple noodle soup! We use shrimp, mussels, fish balls, egg and squid, however, you can pick and choose what toppings you want, and people often like fried tofu and pork as well,” he said.
While I heartily recommend that you try the restaurant’s signature dish, there are no shortage of options available to suit all tastes on the extensive menu – which is presented to you on a large coloured piece of cardboard with big pictures, and labelled in both English and Thai, making ordering easy.
There are beef-based noodle soups as well as snacks such as deep-fried shrimp or chicken wings. I often get the deceptively simple but delicious khao man gai (or chicken on rice), but there are also chicken, beef and salmon steaks served with French fries and salad.