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1
Combine the sugar and water in a wide, shallow pan, add the pandanus leaves, and bring to a steady simmer over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Use a wide, shallow pan so that the syrup depth is even across its surface, giving the threads a consistent cooking environment rather than hot and cool patches. The syrup is ready when it is clear and simmering evenly — not boiling vigorously.
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2
Strain the egg yolks through a fine sieve, pressing gently to eliminate every trace of membrane, so that the resulting liquid flows in one unbroken stream and does not block the nozzle and shatter the threads. Work patiently here — any solid matter left in the yolk will betray you the moment you begin to drizzle. The liquid must be entirely smooth and pour like thin cream.
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3
For the foi thong: fill a squeeze bottle fitted with a 1 mm nozzle — or a banana-leaf cone with a pin-hole — with the strained yolk, hold it above the simmering syrup, and drizzle in a thin, continuous stream, moving in a steady circular motion to produce the characteristic swirling thread pattern. This is where the dish lives or dies: the syrup must hold at a steady simmer throughout, because too hot and the threads shatter on contact with the surface, too cool and they remain raw at the centre and carry an uncooked-yolk taste. Keep one hand free to adjust the heat as you drizzle.
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4
Allow the threads to cook in the syrup for 60–90 seconds, so the sugar has time to travel fully into the yolk and replace the rawness with that characteristic deep sweetness. They are done when they transition from bright orange-yellow to a deeper, even gold — the colour tells you the sugar has fully penetrated. Do not rush this stage by raising the heat.
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5
Lift the threads from the syrup using chopsticks in one continuous, unbroken motion, so the swirling pattern formed during drizzling is preserved rather than tangled into a knot. Arrange in a portion or fold lightly into a small mound.
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6
For the thong yib: using the same yolk mixture and the same simmering syrup, release small, even amounts of yolk from the cone directly into the syrup as discrete drops — not drizzled — so each piece sets as a compact, self-contained round rather than spreading into a thread. Cook until each drop is set firm and pulls cleanly from the base of the pan, which tells you the sugar has locked the shape.
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7
Remove the set drops while still warm and work quickly, pinching each one between thumb and two fingers — three evenly spaced pinches around the base — to form the tri-lobed lotus petal shape, because the sweet must be warm enough to hold the impression of the fingers; once cool it will not take the shape and will simply spring back. Move through the batch steadily so no piece has time to firm up before it is pinched.