date 12.05.2009
contact Shenkeng Old Street, Shenkeng Township, Taipei County/台北縣深坑鄉深坑老街
rating ♥♥♥♥♥ (5 out of 5 hearts)
If you love stinky tofu you have to make a trip to Shenkeng Old Street (深坑老街). I’ve heard a lot about Shenkeng’s famous tofu street so I had to go. From anywhere in Taipei, Shenkeng is easy to get to. Just take the MRT to the Taipei Zoo Station (台北動物園站) and then get on a bus to the 深坑 stop (we took the 237).
From the bus stop just go follow where the people are coming from. Overall, Shenkeng is rather empty and there are no real signs pointing to the stinky tofu street. Shengkeng street is lined with stands and restaurants that not only sell stinky tofu, but regular tofu as well. We didn’t know which restaurants were famous for which ones were better than others, so we just chose at random.
Our first stop was 王水成臭豆腐店. There were a lot of people inside so we figured it was a safe bet. We ordered the steamed garlic stinky tofu, bamboo and fried tofu. We liked the garlic stinky tofu except it wasn’t stinky at all, which was disappointing. The flavor was nice though and the chunks of garlic good. You could also tell that the tofu was fresh because it was the right sponginess, just needed to be more stinky.
The fried tofu was good, but it was just fried tofu. Nothing that special.
The best thing at this place, that we had, was the bamboo. It was well seasoned, tender, and just plain good. I probably wouldn’t come back here for the tofu, but I’d definitely come back for the bamboo.
We saw this and had to try it. Bad decision. It definitely took you back to the days where you were a kid and eating play-doh cause that’s what it tasted like. I could not taste green tea and it didn’t taste like tofu. The minute my friend said it tasted like play-doh it dawned on me, and yes, it tasted like play-doh.
Our second stop was at 好鄰居 (Good Neighbor). They sat the four of us down at a huge table and we ordered our one tiny portion of the fried stinky tofu. It was pretty good. Nothing that spectacular, but good. The pickled cabbage (泡菜) was pretty good, and if you got a bite with the tofu, the sauce, the hot sauce, and the cabbage, it was even better.
This place had my favorite stinky tofu. I have no idea what the name of this shop was, but it’s the first sit down shop on the left when you enter the street. The pickled cabbage was really good as was the sauce. The tofu as actually stinky too, which was nice. The rest of my group thought the sauce was too salty, but I loved it. Definitely my favorite.
Since we had already gotten fried and steamed stinky tofu, all that was left was barbecued. We chose this stand at random because the stand we wanted to go to was already closed. The stinky tofu here was really good. The sauce on it had a peanut sesame taste that was unique and tasty. The stand guy sliced the tofu down the middle and put some cabbage in it as well which added the crunchiness it needed.
Overall, Shenkeng is a great place to just walk around and snack. If you like stinky tofu Shenkeng is a must.
更臭更好吃. 