V P Tofu’s Hot Soy Bean Pudding with Ginger Syrup was even better than our last visit! Soft, silky, and with a very nice Ginger Syrup, it reminded us of one of our favorite Desserts to order at Dim Sum.
And we couldn’t leave without ordering one of their Sweet Black Sesame Puree Desserts (make sure you ask for them to add Coconut Milk), in honor of @paranoidgarliclover.
It was as fragrant, nutty and purely concentrated with Black Sesame, and not too sweet at all. I love the Coconut Milk addition as well, giving it a tropical tinge.
This is about twice the size of the Small Tofu Flower (Tofu Pudding) above, and it was only $3.25. Just a perfect way to end the day.
(Cash Only)
V P Tofu
237 S. Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Tel: (626) 572-9930
Thanks for the shoutout! I was originally going to try to hit up V P Tofu after Happy Noodle, but then we ended up heading north to get our tamales. One day I will try it!!!
Can anyone comment on the San Gabriel versions of Portuguese-style Egg Tart vs Sherman Oaks’ Natas Portuguese Bakery’s Pastel de Nata vs the original 1837’s Pasteis de Belem Home | Pastéis de Belém?
The Natas at pasteis be delem are really really delicious. They are super custardy, creamy, and soft but still carmelized and the crust is very flaky almost croissant like in texture. The line can be really annoying at that place to order because its always so busy due to the hungry crowd of tourists (like me) who go there and order pastries. If you’re ever in lisbon if you dont want to make the trek out to Pasteis de Belem there’s a place called Manteigaria which I thought was equally good and more centrally located.
Nata’s natas in sherman oaks are similar but not nearly as good in all departments. Not as custardy, not as carmelized, and the crust not as flaky and I think slightly sweeter than the natas in lisbon. I’ve also never had them fresh out of the oven or still warm like I did in Lisbon so that may factor into the taste. (I always bring my natas home and reheat them)
I haven’t found a place in SGV that makes good portuguese style egg tarts. I’ve had them at Keewah and the filing was harder and the crust was not nearly as good.
I also had ones at splendid bakery and it was terrible super hard and crust had been soaked through by oil (i had to toast it forever for it to try out. I think its the disposable aluminum tins they use. Definitely would avoid.
Tai Cheong is more well known for cookie crust egg tarts.But they are still a chain.
For puff pastry egg tarts, Honolulu Cafe (a chain) is highly raved in tour guidebooks but to me they were rather disappointing even 15+ years back when I first tried it.
Locals love Hoover Bakery in Kowloon, not just for their 64 layers in a puff pastry egg tarts and old style HK pastries, but supposedly the best chance to catch local celeb Chow Yun Fat as the area is his favorite stomping grounds. If you are lucky he will do selfies with you.
The savory dofu shouldn’t be overlooked at V P either. Their fried tofu with wild fungus is outstanding. Likewise, I’ve heard good things about their lemongrass tofu, but I don’t know first hand as I always get the wild fungus version.
But they also report that Kam Wah (also famous for HK style pineapple bun, in fact more famous for that), says their egg tart puff pastry crust has 120 to 144 layers (they are reporting 144).
Greatest Chinese Gangsta Film (better than Infernal Affairs). Sally Yeh crushes it too. You know Hollywood wants to remake this starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan