Today I will eat stinky tofu for the first time and I decided that the only place to do this is at Taipei's most famous stinky tofu restaurant in Old Shen Keng Street. Now bearing in mind this is a few days after the China Post revealed the terrible truth that stinky tofu made the traditional way (luckily only ten percent of that consumed) includes a hefty infestation of maggots (fly larvae).These are apparently a key ingredient in this historic method for adding a bit of pizazz to an otherwise tasteless food. Modern methods luckily have reduced the fermentation time down from six months to a matter of hours and without the addition of wildlife.
A step back in time
Just recently I have read a couple of articles about Shen Keng and all of them focus on stinky tofu. I was sure that there had to be more to the place. After reading an excerpt from Richard Saunders' new book (Taipei Day Trips 2) about the area I asked him to accompany me there for an adventure. Sure enough this area is full of tofu but there is also a lot more to see and do and even if unlike me you have no intention of eating stinky tofu the town is a must see for the atmosphere alone.
As you arrive near the start of Shen Keng Old Street cross the road and walk back towards Mucha and Taipei for about a hundred meters to Yung An Chu, one of the most beautiful of Shen Keng's remaining historic buildings and now a third degree ancient monument. This is good as there isn't the heavy presence of security guards (as you would get with higher grades) and you can look and touch. Richard luckily speaks Chinese and we were befriended by a child of the ticket operator to whom we gave our NT$80 entrance fee, who proceeded to give a personal guided tour. At the end he was as confused as we were but we got the jist of what he tried to tell us. Yung An Chu was the home of a nobleman and his family who lived there a hundred years ago when it was first erected. Built with Japanese red brick, the house gives a real sense of what life was like for this family: separate buildings for different generations with a central kitchen and servants?quarters at the rear. The heights of all the buildings vary, the servants?quarters being the lowest and the rooms for the head of the family (the grandparents) the highest. Inside, much of the furniture looks as though it has been bought since restoration was completed but some of the fixtures and fittings are original. One chair stood out and we were told it was an original stool for foot binding; the draws underneath were to keep the dressings in. Although I love history I am very pleased that the practice of binding feet has long been illegal. This is a little piece of history and a low-key venue that is suitable for children of all ages but what we were really after is the delights of Shen Keng Old Street so back down the road we sauntered.
Color purple
As you walk towards the old street you pass a row of food stalls. One was particularly eye-catching as it sold roasted sweet potatoes in three different colors. The one that really stood out was bright purple- not a color that is normally associated with food. Displayed with orange and pink varieties which are grown in other parts of Asia, I subsequently discovered, they don't taste any different but they looked stunning. Sold cooked or raw, I paid NT$100 for a bag to take home to my children. On the other side of the road, whole chickens were being spit roasted over a huge barbecue but we were saving ourselves for something more feisty.
Immediately on the left, before the bridge across the river is Shen Keng Old Street. You can't miss this street as there are a number of stalls selling barbecued tofu and the street is awash with lanterns and general business; it also runs parallel to the main road. It's hard to believe it now, but the river running through the town, so shallow and silted-up these days was once the main mode of communication between Shen Keng and Taipei. Forty or more boats could be moored up at the town dock which once stood a few meters upstream of the modern bridge.
The most popular place to try Shen Keng's most famous specialty, stinky tofu, is called "Under the Big Tree" (number 163), close to the bridge, in the shade of two old trees that guard the near-end of Shen Keng Old Street. Next door, several places sell an unusual snack with the even more unusual name of zao ah guei, which looks like a fist-sized round of greenish chewing gum. It's made from a kind of grass, and has a chewy texture and a strange, sweet/salt flavor, plus dried, salty, shredded turnip inside. Other kinds are also available, their color varying from yellow, brown and creamy-white to eye-catching bright red.
Bewildering selection of products
Many of the fine old brick houses in Shen Keng Old Street have been replaced with bland modern buildings, while others are crumbling, but it's still a fascinating place for the wonderful variety of things available to eat, drink or buy. To see what the street might have looked like once, take a look inside number 48, near the end of the street. This is the shop of a local artist, with pictures and postcards of old Shen Keng for sale as well as some old tin toys and other curios. Other shops in the street sell a bewildering selection of products: fresh or dried fruit and vegetables, herbs, peanut candy, tsung tzu (the sticky rice triangles especially popular around the Dragon Boat Festival) and ice-lollies in an amazing variety of rainbow colors and flavors, stacked into freezers and costing just NT$10 each. Select from kiwi, passion fruit, mango, peanut, egg yolk and walnut; the selection is huge. Several shops also sell imports from Mainland China, semi-precious rocks and crystals, wooden shoes and a dazzling array of trinkets. We tried smoked plum juice from shop 109, while at shop 102 we tried both wine made from Taichung grapes and cactus juice from local fruit. Walking back down the other side we saw satin bags at shop 32, natural washing materials at number 49 and umbrellas of every design at number 72.
As we strolled past the NT$10 shop (cool for kids) close by we saw candy floss hawkers with tins of brightly colored sugar waiting to be spun into fonds of sticky floss. Time was running out so we made our way towards the tofu restaurant under the big tree. By this time the smell of the tofu was not unpleasant: in fact the whole time we had been there I didn't feel overwhelmed by the smell at all; a pleasant breeze may have played a part. As our party found a table we ordered a portion of ma la chou dough foo at NT$80. This is stinky tofu that has been cooked in a hot sauce of chilies, onion, garlic and mushrooms. It is hot but not unbearable as some can be. I sampled my first and last mouthful. On reflection, it doesn't taste too bad, it just doesn't taste that good but the fermentation process does give it the texture of an old sponge. After our first foray into the world of stink we opted to share a stinky tofu kebab: large cubes of stinky tofu deep fried then smeared with sauce and barbecued. This is more palatable and eaten hot off the coals is a tasty and satisfying snack. Go for the stalls that have the biggest queue as the quality is sure to be better. For stinky san bei tofu go to 137 Shen Keng Street where they also serve deep fried stuffed tofu rolls.
The verdict is out
For me, stinky tofu is OK but I couldn't get excited about it and I certainly wouldn't seek it out. If there are any tofu dishes that deserve fame it should be san bei tofu (three cups tofu) and ma po tofu (spicy tofu with pork). With or without the tofu I can thoroughly recommend an outing here to soak up a part of old Taipei, eat a wacky flavor ice-lolly (Bertie Bott's every flavor beans spring to mind) and try a bowl of Taiwan's most famous dish. Even if you only do it once, it should be here!
Information
Shen Keng lies just a few kilometers east of Mucha, Taipei's southernmost suburb and the city zoo.
TRANSPORT:
By car: Take county route 106 from Mucha past the zoo to Shen Keng, just four kilometers away. Shen Keng Old Street is on the right a few hundred meters after the freeway exit.
There are many places to park a car, but space is at a premium at weekends; arrive early.
By MRT and bus: Take the MRT to Chingmei station. Leave the station by exit two and walk along Ching Chung Street (towards the wooded hills) for a hundred meters. Cross the road to the bus stop opposite and take either bus 660 (which runs every 7-15 minutes until 10 pm daily, the fare is one zone) or the irregular bus 16 (same price). Get off at Shen Keng bus stop, some way into the town, immediately after a large and conspicuous gas station on the right. The ride takes about 20-25 minutes.
When paying a visit to Shen Keng, it's worth avoiding weekend afternoons, as the traffic jams that build up after about 3 pm can become monstrously long.
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