YAU Heung Bean Curd Shop has been there for years. Everything about the shop at 46 Jardine's Bazaar in Causeway Bay, says so.
The high ceilings, the shelves that droop under the weight of jars, the cupboards that lean wearily against the walls, tell a story about the 30-year-old institution.
But what does not betray its age is the parade of customers - young and old - who come regularly for dau fu (or tofu).
Chinese, Japanese and even Westerners adore the shop's dau fu, explains the owner, Mr Leung Chun-lam. ''We sell all types of beancurd. Dau fu (fresh bean curd), dau fu pok (deep fried), dau cheung (soya bean drink) and dau fu fa (bean curd jelly), as well as jars of fermented dau fu.'' Various types of bean curd are served in different ways. The savoury dau fu or the dau fu pok is stuffed with minced meat and fried or boiled in a soup. Sweet bean curd products are served in a bowl, hot or cold, with syrup or milk.
Every day, the shop grinds about 120kg of soy beans. The beans imported from the mainland are best: ''The beans are fresher,'' Mr Leung said.
The 63-year-old businessman does not know how to make bean curd himself. He started Yau Heung with relatives and friends in 1959. ''We chose bean curd business because one of the relatives had made bean curd before and knew the trade.'' Although his relatives still have stakes in their venture, much of the business rests in Mr Leung's hands. ''They [relatives] are old now,'' he explained.
Mr Leung employs three masters to make the bean curd. ''One is in his 70s. The other two are in their 60s.'' What worries the owner is the future. ''The masters are very old and they are getting fewer, too. The younger people don't want to learn the trade. Making dau fu is too much work.'' The masters start making the bean curd at 3 every morning. The painstaking process takes three hours. And due to the high demand, it is repeated twice throughout the day.