Making Tofu the Traditional Way

In Hong Kong, tofu has become an intrinsic part of the local cuisine, just as much as rice and noodles. Browsing the menu of a local restaurant or supermarket, you will soon notice that tofu comes in dozens of different flavours.

As time passed and the population of Hong Kong grew, tofu production processes evolved. In present-day Hong Kong, tofu manufacturing has become a highly industrialized process. Very few traditional tofu-making shops survive in Hong Kong, the most famous among them being the Kung Wo Beancurd Factory, located on Pei Ho Street in Sham Shui Po.

In 1893, before the New Territories were leased to the British, a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong province named Lok Gong opened his first shop on Canton Road on the Kowloon Peninsula (though the exact location of this first restaurant has been lost to history). Eventually, in the late 1950s, the business moved to Sham Shui Po, where it still operates to this day.

What sets Kung Wo Beancurd Factory apart is that while many modern factories have switched to fast, high-heat steel machinery, Kung Wo maintains the slow, traditional steps that give its soy products a distinctively rich, velvety texture. In doing so, Kung Wo has brought a nineteenth-century tofu recipe straight into the twenty-first century.

Today, Kung Wo Beancurd Factory holds a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand status for its high-quality, historic craft.