On weekdays, when approaching Prince Goldfish Street near the junction of water channels, there is always a strong smell coming from the nostrils. People who "know the goods" will say it is fragrant, while some people think it is very smelly.
Whether you like it or not, Prince Edward's stinky tofu snack shop has been open for many years, and its fried taste has long become a "landmark", and it has even been prosecuted and fined by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, a notice was posted outside the store recently, stating that due to lease issues, the store will close after the 27th of this month.
After the news came out, it attracted a lot of attention. This afternoon (16th), many citizens lined up to buy snacks before closing.
Prince Edward's stinky tofu shop has been in business for many years, and the fried taste has long become an alternative "landmark".
(Photo by Lu Nuojun)
The smell is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and diners rush to buy and taste before the dead line
Stinky tofu, fried large intestine, fish and meat siu mai... These street snacks are the memories of many Hong Kong people. In the era when ghost hawkers and food stalls were rare, snack shops became more "precious".
The delicious restaurant located in the Princes Water Channel has been praised for the smell of stinky tofu for many years. Cai Lan, a senior gourmet, once wrote: "Smelling a strong smell, the haters cover their noses and walk away, and the lovers are ecstatic. It turns out that I found a stinky tofu that is rare in the market." Over the years, the smell of stinky tofu has caused a lot of controversy, and it seems to have eased, and its products are still popular among a group of old eaters.
However, it has recently been reported that the owner decided to close the restaurant due to the owner's refusal to renew the lease. Because of the stench "penetrating into the hearts of the people", it has aroused discussions in various food concern groups on the Internet.
At noon today, there was also a long line in front of the store. Couples and families came to buy snacks. The clerks were busy making food, packaging and collecting money.
Customer Ms. Chen pointed out that she stopped by today after learning that the shop was going to close, saying that she likes to eat stinky tofu and has been patronizing it for several years.
She believes that in the past at least there were hawker stalls on the streets around the Lunar New Year, but now there are fewer and fewer places where you can eat stinky tofu.
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Small shop was prosecuted and fined by EPA for strong smell
Another guest, Mr. Zheng, said that he knew that he was going to graduate, so he came here for the first time. He said that he didn't particularly like stinky tofu, but he didn't resist.
He also pointed out that, as far as he knows, there are still restaurants selling stinky tofu in Yau Ma Tei and Tai Wai, and in the future, when he wants to eat, he will "turn to" other shops.
In fact, since the restaurant opened in 1998, the smell was too strong, and the upstairs neighbors and nearby shops protested.
It is understood that some shop owners bought air washing machines, range hoods, etc. in the hope of reducing the smell, but nearby residents are still very dissatisfied with the shop, claiming that they can only close the windows for many years to avoid the smell and enter the house. He was sued in court for violating the Air Pollution Control Ordinance and was eventually fined.
Now that the store is closed for two weeks, in addition to diners regretting that there is one less place for "pilgrimage", there are also netizens on the other side who describe the incident as a long-standing "victory of the Anti-Japanese War" for residents.
Two weeks before the store closes, where can you go to eat stinky tofu in the future?
(Photo by Lu Nuojun)
According to legend, stinky tofu originated in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that a tofu shop owner was selling tofu in the summer. Seeing that the tofu was about to turn rancid, he had a thought, sprinkled the tofu with salt, cut it into small pieces, and put it in the altar.
A few days later, when I opened the jar, I found that the tofu had turned blue. Although it smelled very stinky, it was very delicious. Since then, stinky tofu has become a special snack.
At the beginning of the last century, many stinky tofu hawkers in Hong Kong would carry charcoal stoves and oil wok on their shoulders and set up stalls along the street.
However, due to the unique smell that has been complained by many people and the time it takes to make it, stalls selling stinky tofu are actually rare.
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