Yuncheng Old South Street Entrance Tofu Brain Shop, Delicious and Full of Memories

Original Old South Street North Entrance, currently Phoenix South Road

On March 24, 2020, a beautiful spring day with blooming magnolia flowers.

When the editor passed by the original Old South Street North Entrance at the bottom of the city clock tower, he couldn’t help but think of the tofu brain shop demolished in 2010 during the old city renovation, a shop that had been operating for more than twenty years.

And regarding this tofu brain shop, people from Old Yuncheng know that it’s not a few, at least in the area around the clock tower it’s well-known.

Figure left is the location of the tofu brain shop (DL6686 taken)

This is a two-story building called ‘Guo Ming Hotel’ facing the street. The tofu brain shop was located downstairs on the east side, the storefront.

The interior is not small, besides there are several high tables and chairs, the central area is two buckets containing tofu brain and sauce, on both sides are iron stoves for deep-fried oil and steamed buns, such a layout seems to be long-established.

The shopkeepers, including the shopkeeper and assistants, there were about four or five people, scooped tofu brain, deep-fried oil, steamed buns, and dishwashing, each responsible for their respective tasks.

The shop façade doesn’t look very prominent, and it’s relatively simple, but it’s never lacked customers queuing to have a meal, especially at 7 or 8 in the morning, the business is the most bustling, even the dishes sometimes are not enough.

This is related to the fact that the clock tower area is a densely populated old city area, and this store occupies a favorable location, more importantly, it’s the unchanging taste and quality that has been maintained for many years, so a large part of the customers are regulars, and the ordering sequence is naturally familiar.

For example, these regulars after entering the store would often buy two oil cakes or one bun, then pay for the tofu brain, and then the cashier would say ‘One bowl of brain’ in a short and slightly prolonged tone, and the diners would automatically stand next to the tofu brain scoop to wait in line.

Waiting until it’s your turn, smelling the rich soybean protein fragrance mixed with the aroma of sauce and chili oil, it’s irresistible, and then involuntarily happy and shaking legs.

You can see the craftsman holding a bowl in one hand and a quick-handling spoon scooping layer by layer of the wobbly and slippery white tofu brain into the bowl, and then pour the sauce containing soybean, seaweed strips, and deep-fried tofu cubes into it, he would ask ‘Is the chili hot enough?’ In a moment, he casually handed a bowl of hot tofu brain to the customer.

After the tofu brain is served, some customers eat it in the store, while some customers turn around and sit at the outdoor seating area in front of the store, finding the low, long, and narrow table and small stools more suitable for early breakfast.

It’s time to boost your energy for the whole day!

Take a bite of that translucent, non-fragmented, and slippery tofu brain, the entrance is delicate and fresh and pliable, mixed with the mellow aroma of the sauce and chili oil, and the deliciousness of crispy scallion flowers, eating and eating you unconsciously happy and shaking legs.

Then eat another piece of the fluffy and soft golden-yellow fried oil cake

Or a warm bun and oil cake, which is both comfortable and satisfying to eat.And this classic breakfast combination of a bowl of tofu brain and oil cake is very affordable, even if it has been increased slightly from time to time, but back then two yuan was enough to eat, it’s a real bargain.

But because it's a small-scale business, the dining conditions here are inevitably not so ‘luxurious’, such as using green paper used to hold pastries as napkins for many years, but diners have long been accustomed to and never bothered about it.

It’s also because of the low profit margin, the tofu brain shop later had to cease operations due to high rents.

Let me tell you that in May 2010, as part of the renovation scope of South Lane Shed Housing Area (Clock Tower Community), Guo Ming Hotel was demolished, and the tofu brain shop disappeared from this period of time.

Now, ten years later, if you ask people from Old Yuncheng which tofu brain is delicious, they might wave their sleeves habitually pointing to the Old South Street Tofu Brain Shop.

It’s because of this small bowl of tofu brain, which contains not only deliciousness but also the rich old street flavor......

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Editor: Ma Guoqing

Registration number: Yuncheng Xinxi A00236

A00236