Special thanks to Tofu Village for extending this food review invitation.
This is my second visit to Tofu Village (豆腐村) at Church Street (Lebuh Gereja). This restaurant specializes in Hakka cuisine (客家菜) such as yong tao fu (酿豆腐), which I enjoyed during my previous visit.
Today, the menu has been revised slightly to include several new dishes. To cater the time-sensitive lunch crowd, there now are several claypot dishes of different flavors.
One example is Black Bean Sauce Yong Tao Fu (黑豆豉焖煲, RM14.00), which includes 5 pieces of yong tau fu. The pieces are cooked in douchi (黑豆豉), which is made from fermented black soybean. Eaten directly, douchi can be too salty for my palate. Therefore, it is best enjoyed with rice or noodle, which need to be ordered separately.
Also new to the menu is Hot Spicy Yong Tao Fu (香辣焖煲, RM15.00). This dish derives its spiciness from bird’s eye chili. Although the taste is shrouded initially, pungency starts to kick in after several bites. I think this is a good choice for customers who like to spice things up.
My favorite dish this evening is Hakka Rice Wine Chicken (客家黄酒鸡, RM12.90). The gravy is infused with gratifying flavors of rice wine. In turn, the gravy penetrates tender chicken pieces thoroughly and makes every bite so gratifying. Also included are wolfberries (枸杞) and wood ear fungus (黑木耳) to provide sweetness and mouthfeel respectively. I personally recommend this dish.
Moving to beverages, Mango Milk (芒果牛奶, RM5.90) is an ice-blended smoothie with slushy consistency. While mango flavor is present, the drink has somewhat reduced sweetness. Fortunately, this plays to my liking as I prefer not to have my tongue overwhelmed by brute sweetness.
Name: Tofu Village (豆腐村)
Address: 88, Lebuh Gereja, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-251-9512
Business hours: 11:30am-9:30pm, closed on Mondays
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TofuVillage.Restaurant
Coordinates: 5.41911 N, 100.33980 E
Directions: Drive along the one-way Church Street (Lebuh Gereja) till nearly the end of the road. Tofu Village is located on the right, exactly at the intersection with Queen Street (Lebuh Queen). Street parking is available at Church Street, Queen Street, Pitt Street (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling) and other nearby roads, but parking space may be limited on weekdays.
