Tofu Pudding and a Hot Seller

A picture of a guy in a tofu pudding shop in Taipei, Taiwan went viral in the local market recently.  I thought it is a great opportunity to talk about the delicious snack… and of course the guy.

Photo Source: Tonji Tofu Pudding

What is tofu pudding?

Touhua is the Chinese name of tofu pudding. The delicious snack is originated from China and evolved in various forms in different parts of Asia. The Taiwanese style of tofu pudding is made of soft tofu and some sort of sugar water.

What makes good tofu pudding?

It might look simple but there are many techniques hidden in this simple recipe. As mentioned in our travel website, food is a big thing in Taiwanese culture and the industry is competitive. This little simple snack is not an exception.

Vendors compete on the ingredients and techniques of making sweet tofu. Majority of tofu pudding places make their own tofu and every shop has its own special taste. Some health conscious vendors make tofu with non-GMO soybeans or black soybeans.

Vendors also compete on the “sugar water”. They don‘t just mix sugar and water. It is like the soup base to beef noodles or ramen. It plays an important role. Vendors usually cook and filter their own sugar water from the sugarcane juice or honey. Some would add ginger in the mix. Milk is a new alternative for those who want to try something new.

Besides sweet tofu and sugar water, most of vendors also provide extra toppings, such as peanuts or boba (i.e. tapioca balls. Please see this post for more details)

The tofu pudding guy in the news

Photo source: blogger Yuanba

Recently tofu pudding becomes a hot topic in Taiwan due to a viral picture of a hot and shirtless seller at a local tofu pudding shop posted online. According to the post, the author claimed that he followed the long line outside of a local tofu pudding shop and discovered that it was the hot tofu pudding server, not the tofu pudding, that attracted ladies in line. The series of candid shots of this tofu pudding guy went viral quickly. But many people argued that it was yet another marketing campaign of the model agency that the hot server worked for or a campaign of a mobile phone company, Samsung that the author mentioned at least 10 times in his post. Haha.  

Is he the hottest tofu pudding guy you have ever seen in Taiwan? Please leave a comment below and let us know. If you are travelling in Taiwan, stop by the shop and check out yourself. Don’t forget to taste the delicious Taiwanese snack. People watching can be an alternative tourism sightseeing attraction in Taiwan.  Haha. According to the post, he is nephew of the owner and he doesn’t work in the shop every day.  BUT the good news is that the tofu pudding shop is well known for the great taste and their all nature tofu. THAT is guaranteed. 

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