Mrs. Mao: Stinkiest Tofu in Town
For the stinkiest tofu in town, there’s only one person to see—Mrs. Mao. For years, she’s been running a tofu stand near Mong Kok that made headlines in 2000, when the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ordered them to shut down after frequent complaints about the smell from residents. She talks to June Ng.
HK Magazine: There are a lot of street snacks to sell. Why stinky tofu?
Mrs. Mao: People love stinky tofu, they just can’t find it everywhere, especially the good kind. My husband and I started the shop about 10 years ago. My husband ran a factory in China, but things weren’t working out there. I had experience running a fish ball shop, so I suggested setting up another. We put stinky tofu on the menu, and it turned out to be a hit.
HK: So how do you make stinky tofu?
Mao: It’s a commercial secret, but I will talk about some of the details. First we got in touch with a local stinky tofu master, and worked out a deal where he solely supplies his products to us. All I can really say is that the process in making it is even more difficult than making your ordinary stinky tofu. We have a special “stinky sauce” to ferment the tofu in. Of course I can’t tell you what’s in the sauce. Well, one ingredient is shrimp shells. That’s all I can say.
HK: What happened after the FEHD ask you to close down the shop?
Mao: We installed the most powerful exhaust system ever seen in a small snack store in Hong Kong! It costs more than $100,000 and it’s the same kind of exhaust system a big chain restaurant would use, like McDonalds. It’s a stinky business, so I understand if people complain. But it’s our bad luck that the district councilor’s office is right above our shop.
HK: Now that the shop is less odiferous, has business been affected?
Mao: It really has. The smell is largely gone now, so some people stand around in front of our shop sniffing the air, wondering if they’re at the right place. I shout a lot these days to get people’s attention.
HK: What kind of customers do you get?
Mao: We have a lot of regulars. You’d be surprised how many primary school kids get, since it’s such an old school type of snack food. We also get some foreigners, and many overseas Chinese who have returned for a visit. Every time they get five or six pieces because they can’t get anything like ours overseas.
HK: Have you thought about retirement?
Mao: Yes. This is an unpopular business. You know there are people who actually spit on the floor when they walk by our shop because they hate the smell so much? It’s so hard to hire people too—they’d prefer to live on government pensions than to work. At least neighbors are really nice to us, and they like the food too. We actually want to focus more of our business on the marinated cold food rather than the stinky tofu. At least that stuff is less stinky.
