Juicy!

Address: 533 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91778
Telephone: (626) 570-0860
Website: N/A
Bill: Approx. $6 / per dish
Recommend? Yes

Taiwan is famous for their xiao chi, particularly the “stinky” tofu. Some restaurants call it “Country Fried Tofu” on their menus. Others call it “Traditional Fried Tofu.” A few call it by it’s Chinese name, Chou Dou Fu. I, on the other hand, like to call it “Fragrant” tofu.

Honestly, though. It’s a lot different than the Korean tofu I wrote about back in July. If you have never tried it before, and is feeling brave, be prepared to plug your nose. The smell is actually worse than my 15 month old kid’s poopy diaper. I know, I know. Now you want to coward out of trying it. But in all honesty, the “stinkier” it is, the better it is supposed to taste. And Yung Ho has the stinkiest tofu I could find in the San Gabriel area. You can literally smell it in the kitchen before it’s even served to you.

As the waitress walks towards our table, the first thought running through my mind was, “Oh dear God, please let that plate be the order for the next table.” I did not want to be the reason for complaints. I did not want to be the person scaring the customers away.

However, once the plate is set on my table, I scarfed down the triangle blocks. Dipped it in the hot spicy sauce and stuffed it in my mouth. A strange after taste is left in my mouth. But after a bite of the Chinese style kim chi (pickled cabbage), the after taste goes away. I’ve had stinky tofu elsewhere before, but Yung Ho definitely wins the award for the “stinkiest” tofu on the block!

I have only talked about Yung Ho’s stinky tofu. They have many other items on their menu for just a few bucks. We also order a squid noodle soup, salted rice ball, taro bun, soy milk, rice milk, and another order of the stinky tofu (just because (1) it’s rare that we are in town and (2) because it’s just so darn yummy) all for a measly $20.

Gentlemen, I must warn you however. It’s not the best place to bring your date. Not only will she be repelled by the smell, but the restaurant itself is not an upscale place. If they had not upgraded their furniture inside, I would have easily called it a “hole in the wall.” Also, the parking is terrible. We had to park across the street in the big shopping center and walk across at the crosswalk.

So would I return? Definately.

Have you dined at this restaurant? Share your experience with me by commenting below.

Address: 1743 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247
Telephone: (310) 323-0006
Website: N/A
Bill: Approx. $8 / person
Recommend? Yes

It’s funny - I mentioned having Korean tofu for lunch one day to a colleague of mine, and she invisioned a slab of tofu being served on a plate.  Oh no, that’s not close at all!

If you like meals that serve a lot of side dishes, Korean tofu is your best bet.  Many Korean tofu restaurants serve a side of salad, kimchi, potato salad, seaweed, bean sprouts, and cucumber.  Aside from all the tasty side dishes, there is a menu full of choices of which “flavor” tofu you want. 

Seafood tofu, combination tofu, dumpling tofu, kimchi tofu, mushroom tofu, beef tofu, clam tofu.  Then you get to decide how spicy you want it.  White (which is not spicy at all - the soup base is literally white) , mild, spicy, or extra spicy.  I can’t handle too much so I usually opt for the mild.  It’s just enough for me to taste the flavors.

I ordered the seafood tofu, which has a little bit of shrimp, clams, and oysters.  The tofu was very, very soft and the flavor is just right.  The tofu comes in a stone pot and is still sizzling when served.  They give you an uncooked egg so if it fits your fancy, you can crack the egg into the sizzling stone pot.  It’s so hot that it will cook the egg - just make sure you mix it.  You also get rice, which is also served in a stone pot.  It’s very hot so don’t try to get the rice yourself.  Have the waitress scoop it out for you.

Of course, tofu is not the only thing on the menu.  There’s also the BBQ ribs that is marinated in their sweet BBQ sauce.  That is served on a sizzling iron plate.  You can also order the bimbimbop.  It’s vegetables over rice mixed with their sweet red sauce.

The shop itself is next to a Japanese restaurant.  It’s also a little bit small, but the service is great.  Parking may be difficult to find if all the other restaurants get packed. 

So would I return?  Definately.

Have you dined at this restaurant?  Share your experience with me by commenting below.

Address: 13892 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92843
Telephone: (714) 636-4885
Website: Click here
Bill: $300 for 12 people = Approx. $25 / person
Recommend? Yes, if the site of eating critters don’t make you want to puke.

“Here, suck on this. It’s juicy.” It was the head of the half mutilated crawdad that my husband passed over to me. I scrunched up my nose and passed.

I pass by that restaurant often but never really thought about dining there. Initially, the thought of pulling apart heads and little itsy bitsy legs apart and then peeling the shell off the body to get at the small meat does not sound too appealing to me. Nor does having my meal served to me in a large plastic bag.

As I begin to wonder why the line is literally 1/2 a mile long, the waitress taps me on the shoulder to ask if I wanted a plastic bib tied to my neck. Graciously, I took it.  I didn’t want my nice blouse to get stained.

Ahh, The Boiling Crab.  After living so close to the restaurant, I finally caved in.  Finally, I’m seated at a table with a big plastic bag full of critters.  A bag full of crawfish, shrimp, sausage, and yellow corn marinated with their special spicy Louisiana spices.

No, we did not order any boiling crabs.  In fact, we didn’t order any crabs at all!  Instead, we ordered raw oysters on their half shell.  They actually were really really good.  I think I enjoyed those more than the crawfish!  What made it so good was the red sauce that they served with the oysters. 

$25 a person really isn’t too bad.  I mean, we ordered 4 bags of critters, a round of beer, and 2 dozen raw oysters.  So would I return?  Sure, why not?

Have you dined at this restaurant?  Share your experience with me by commenting below.