Star Lunch Stinky Tofu Update
It must have been the thread about stinky tofu (chou doufu) in Toronto (and the Big Dog's "no go") that generated the centrifugal force that spun me out to Star Lunch on my mid-day walk, but there I was savoring the bouquet emanating from the pot of boiling oil. I had a single order of fried chou doufu and a bowl of salty doujiang. The doujiang was nothing to write home about, seemingly just a salty version of the sweet doujiang with some scallion tops and bits of you tiao thrown in. Adding a little vinegar to curdle it and a little chili paste for bite made it became palatable. ($2.00 for a bowl.)
The stinky tofu, however, was spot on. Star Lunch ferments their own, and it seems to vary from batch to batch. It was not inflicted with runaway rankness or the lady-like delicateness of the fried chou doufu which seems to be the prevailing style in Shanghai (where I had last had some). It was perfectly pungent, to my taste, and fried to just the right golden color and fine-grained texture on the ouside, if a trifle dry inside. Star provides a sweet dip but you have to make your own puddle of spicy dip from the obligatory chili pot on the counter; for $4.00 who's complaining?
Total, including complimentary tea, $6.00 tax included.
Star Lunch, Jackson St. just above Kearny, stinky tofu on weekends only.
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y'know...i've had similar thoughts like that when I told the original shanghainese owners that took over the restaurant from Primo (circa 1981) that they should emphasize on Shanghainese small snack type of foods such as dumplings (jiaozi), pot stickers (huote), little steam buns (xiao lung bao), and sweet foods from that region like sweet tong yuan (jiangsu). I think they would do pretty good like that. They are a lot of local shanghainese that would love a shanghai dianxin joint.
I don't know if the late Allen Leung's "art gallery" (I put that in quotation marks because I don't think his biz was really that) is still functioning, but if his store is vacant I would not be surprised if the landlord would knock down the walls to make a bigger space.
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Gary Soup
Jan 3, 2007 05:10 AM
I wandered by Star Lunch today to find it closed. One of the neighborhood locals told me that the owner had retired. The business is up for sale but no takers yet "because the rent is too high."
On Kearny Street I noticed that Cheung Hing (between Sacramento and Clay) had also closed and so had the neighboring business in the same building (the Hawaiian Jewelry place). Both of the spaces had "for rent" signs.
Perhaps there was a spate of year-end lease expirations. I just hope the owners don't price the premises out of the market.
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re: Gary Soup
Melanie Wong
Jan 3, 2007 05:21 AM
That's too bad. I saw the papered over windows yesterday when I drove by, but still hoped for better news. Can't imagine what a landlord could put in that spot for higher rent. Cheung Hing on Kearny has been closed for more than a year.
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re: Gary Soup
Melanie Wong
Jan 3, 2007 05:35 AM
Yep, schinken oder speck mit eier, $2.75. Sorry I never got around to having ham or bacon with eggs there in the morning.
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re: sylphi
Gary Soup
Jan 1, 2007 05:40 PM
Really? It's been a couple of months since I've gone there for a chou doufu fix. I recently got back from a month in Shanghai, where I had stinky tofu nearly every day from one of the many street vendors; it's a slightly more genteel variety in Shanghai, though, and I was waiting a while for the craving to build back up enough to tackle Star Lunch's version.
Maybe Leland (LW) can shed some light on Star Lunch's possible closure.
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the chinese name, "Shang Hai Xiao Ci" was given by me a long time ago when the restaurant was first acquired from Primo circa 1981. They tried to pick up where Primo left off, but they can no way match the cooking of Primo. I told them they should not try to be like Primo and concentrate on what they are good at as Shanghainese. Concentrate on Shanghainese foods and call their shop "Shang Hai Xiao Ci". Later the Chinese sign went up and there it was.....
http://www.pbase.com/lwongphoto/image...
Shanghai Xiao Ci means Shanghai Snack.
PS: The smell is not from the break in the sewer pipe.
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