Singapore always have food craze.
First it was the bubble tea craze where locals get crazy about the black pearls in a milk tea; then the pork floss bread that brought our bread culture to a new level by paying 3 times more than what we used to pay for a bread, followed by the doughnut chains with different flavours popping out every minute.
Now, we have a new craze. The chilled beancurd.
The creator? Lao Ban Soya Beancurd.
They were the first to sell the new type of chilled beancurd at the Old Airport Road hawker centre a year and a half ago. The chilled beancurd tastes nothing like the traditional version and has a smoother and creamier texture. If you are looking for a traditional bowl of beancurd with a strong beancurd, this is not your type. The chilled beancurd does not have that beany taste, and is more like a cream tofu crème brulee.
Mr Li Hui Shing and his wife Mdm Hui Ywai Kwai set up Lao Ban Soy Bean Curd, churning out fresh soy bean milk, tamed it with a coffee-mate like milk and malt mixture with a touch of gelatin. They steam, cool then chill it for a few hours before a continuous line of about 30 shows up without fail each day they open.
When I was there for an assignment a year ago (with no queues at all), I was thirsty and wanted to buy a cup of soya bean drink from Lao Ban. The uncle told us, why not try their chilled soya bean curd? Soon, I fell in love with it. Then when more people ate it and eventually got into the newspaper, it was difficult to buy a bowl of chilled beancurd from Lao Ban. Queues form at the Lao Ban Soya Beancurd stall even before it opens for business.
20 years ago, we can buy beancurd at 50 cents a bowl. But now, everyone is craving for a bowl of beancurd that sells for $1.50. And when you queue for an hour to buy the dessert, you can’t be only buying one. On average, each in that queue buys 20 packs of the silky dessert. The last time I was there, I had about $50 in my pocket and I spent most of it (only leaving some money to take a cab home). Yes I am crazy over it too and I even wanted to try making the chilled beancurd at home.
And within the next few months, many other stalls started selling the same dessert and people were willing to wait for up to an hour for a taste of the beancurd. Each stalls had their unique recipes and definitely don’t taste the same as Lao Ban. Some are more watery, some are lessy creamy, some added more flavours like durian and green tea into the beancurd.
Here is my list of the stalls that sells the chilled beancurd. It is not complete, and there are definitely more stalls coming up with such dessert. Let me know if I have missed out any.
Lao Ban Soya Bean Curd
– 51 Old Airport Road, Old Airport Road Food Centre #01-127
– 1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre #01-91
51 Soya Bean
– 51 Old Airport Road, Old Airport Road Food Centre #01-72
– 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre #B1-04
QQ Soya Bean Curd
– 51 Old Airport Road, Old Airport Road Food Centre #01-165
– Tampines Interchange
iBean
– 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre #01-64
Dou Fa Beancurd
– Block 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Food Centre #01-348M
Bonjour Soya Beancurd
– Blk 1A Commonwealth Dr, Tanglin Halt Hawker Centre #01-16
Bean
– 1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre #01-86
Soya Q
– 85 Redhill Lane, Redhill Food Centre #01-38
Riche Beans
– 84 Marine Parade Central, #01-182
– 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Alexandra Food Village #01-69
Chi Ni Dou Fu
– Blk 335, Smith St #02-106
Soya Mate Bean Curd
– Blk 335, Smith St #02-150
Seng Kee Black Herbal Chicken Soup
– 467 Changi Road
Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to the shops above. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!
