Stinky Tofu and Other Soya Products from 豆宫殿 (Xiang Yu Fatt) @ Johor Taman Gaya in Malaysia

I was reminiscing about the stinky tofu from Taiwan with a Malaysian friend when he commented that there was a weekend food truck near his house in Johor Bahru that also cooked up a mean stinky tofu! Sadly, I don't really like to visit Johor on weekends given the jam and he kindly went to check with the boss if he has a physical shop. 

Turned out there was indeed one with the name "豆宫殿", located near Mount Austin! Honestly, when I got the name of the shop, I thought it's going to be decorated along the same standard and magnitude as an imperial hall as the last two Chinese characters refer to a hall within a palace. 

Well, it was much smaller than expected.

One simple shop space without the opulence and luxury. Anyway, a name is just a name and I am glad I don't get stuck-up service from the lady in charge. p.s. she was really friendly by the way!  

Aside from stinky tofu, 豆宫殿 also served soya products like soya milk and soya beancurd (both with added options like purple potato sago, grass jelly, black pearl, ginger etc). We already had breakfast before taking GRAB to the area; hence, I could only order sparingly.

Soya Milk -  this tasted just like those I could get from hawker centres in Singapore. Given its focus on soya products, I was expecting a richer flavor with a thicker consistency. Nevertheless, still nice on a hot day.

Soya Beancurd - large portion and you have options for either the usual transparent sugar syrup or brown sugar syrup. Latter was known for being "healthier" and this nutritional tagline is always welcome as one transitions into middle age. 

The beancurd was silky smooth and easily one of the better ones in the market! If I am living nearby, I would likely be a loyal customer as I would sometimes have beancurd for dinner, especially after a heavy lunch.    

Stinky Tofu - I couldn't remember if I ordered small or medium. Given that I travelled so far, I would have opted for a larger portion. However, I am also mindful I would be eating, and eating, with more eating for the day trip. 

Whatever the case, these pieces of stinky tofu didn't have a strong stench and I was frankly quite worried that this would be a wasted trip, with extra nagging from Alex, who loves stinky tofu as much as I do. 

Despite the faint aroma, these were delicious with that unmistakable (and memorable) smelly taste once you crunch through the crisp layer of the freshly fried tofu! The sauce drizzled over the tofu had a sweetness that made you just want to eat more! 

I am always on the lookout for pickled cabbage that is a perfect complement for stinky tofu. The ones from 豆宫殿 definitely meet the cut for its crunchiness and the perfect balance of vinegarish sweetness! Satisfying!

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Needless to say, this shall be my must-visit whenever I go Johor! Disclaimer; provided my fellow travel kakis are keen. My mom had already expressed her disagreement to join me if I ever want to bring her there. :(

 Address 

26, Jalan Gaya 25, Taman Gaya, 

81800Johor, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078222996759

Menu 

As above.

Pricing

Soya Milk - RM 3.00

Soya Beancurd - RM 4.00

Stinky Tofu - From RM 9.00

Additional Info

They do wholesale for their stinky tofu! My neighbors should be assured that, thankfully, I don't allow deep frying in my kitchen. Furthermore, I would think I need a permit to bring in to Singapore too. 

SOOK Siam at ICONSIAM Shopping Centre in 2022

I am no stranger to ICONSIAM, and correspondingly, to the fascinating SOOK Siam within Bangkok's biggest shopping center but since it had been more than two years since my last year; it's hard not to take any photos! 

Frankly, it wasn't on my itinerary, and the main reason was convenience as we decided to talk a ferry after exploring khao san road and one of the stops happened to be ICONSIAM.

Many shopping malls, to me, are just shopping malls and developers and operators need to work extremely hard to set themselves apart from their competitors. At ICONSIAM, the most unique attribute would be SOOK Siam.

It's an arena that brings you to another world so different from the bright, classy, modern shopping mall setting. Some called it an indoor floating market whereas I like to put it as a traditional Thai night market with comfortable air-conditioning. 

To me, despite the water features, the fact that the boats were fixed to a position and can't navigate in the water means it would be a sham to name it as a floating market.

Space was huge and it's nice to check out every nook and cranny! Like this pretty secluded area with earthen pots and brick wall with crosses as design.  

 

Having been to a few night markets in Thailand, notably the traditional one at Krabi Town, I noticed there's always a stage for entertainment, which you can also find at SOOK Siam.

And with the bulbs hung across the main event hall, it did give the nostalgia vibes. If not for the ceiling, I could persuade myself this was an outdoor market in the highlands.

At night markets, food would always be the main draw although I always feel that the stall composition shouldn't be majority food as we all only have one stomach and there's only so much one can stuff into his/her tummy! 

As a 'market' that operates throughout the day from 10.00am till 10.00pm and the advantage of being housed in a shopping center thronged by both locals and tourists, there were just too many food stalls! My eyes kept veering left and right and my mind simply couldn't decide what to eat...

Moo ping was an obvious choice and at just 15 baht; much cheaper than what we can get in Singapore, and with an authentic taste! Some moo ping in Singapore had an awful taste.

Freeze dried maggots! 250 baht was expensive, especially when I didn't remember they were tasty. If freeze dried honey bees were available, I would consider.

Fried durian! I should have requested for a sample as they appeared to be no difference from potato chips! Said to be number 1 in rayong, the Thailand province known to be the "second largest durian producer", pricing starts from a wallet friendly pack of 35 baht.  

I was captivated by the above and decided to sacrifice my limited stomach space for these little pieces of edible art from Chada Pavilion! Click here for my review. 

While there were plenty of branded boutique stores within ICONSIAM, the non-food stalls at SOOK Siam focused on items you can find at night markets. Don't you just love the cute dog / cat imprints?! 

Potted plant workshop, in Thai! I was given a pottery workshop voucher for Christmas last year and validity is in 3 months' time! Time to arrange so that I can work my way to be a pottery master!

Soy wax scented candle; supposed to be healthier than normal candles. The above were from del'luna scented and you can check out their instagram here. 

Surprisingly, Alex was interested in the coasters! Unlike me, he was hardly a shopper for things, other than gaming accessories. In addition, he isn't a foodie; which means it's hard to get him to try new things! 

I think it's some exhibition on sustainable construction. 

Explored enough and it's time to leave! As in to leave ICONSIAM; I didn't even bother to check out the rest of the levels since I figured there's either nothing new, or I couldn't afford them. *shrugs*

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Address

299 Charoen Nakhon Rd, 

Khwaeng Khlong Ton Sai, Khet Khlong San, 

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10600, Thailand

Map

As above.

SOOK Siam Map

As above.

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok

CHADA Pavilion - Royal Thai Desserts @ ICONSIAM in Bangkok [Thailand]

The Chinese believes good food must have three components; good visual, nice smell and delicious taste. A simple minded person like me goes only for the taste although I must admit visual and aroma often compete for the first impression. 

One recent, real life example took place was when I visited ICONSIAM in Bangkok. Strolling past the many food stalls at the basement SOOK SIAM, I stopped to this beautiful sight in front of me.

Exquisitely made, colorful and bite sized, these pretty royal Thai desserts were so captivating; I actually stood there for a few minutes, marveling at how they can look so appealing, exactly like 'little pieces of arts' articulated on a poster. 

As a marketing student, I am not easily manipulated into buying something but at just 15 baht a piece; the pricing wouldn't exactly burn a hole in my pocket and I was somewhat tempted.

Deal-breaker was the provision of indoor seating! I wouldn't want to bring back the dessert in plastic boxes and forgetting all about them, a high possibility given my scrambled-egg brain when it comes to stuff not related to work.

There was also a drink menu with morbidly-named ones like cyanide, last words, death in the afternoon etc. Sadly, Alex and I are boring persons and we went with safe sounding beverages like Queen Roselle and Passion Cooler.

Honestly disappointed when the drinks were served in disposable plastic cups! It's a sit-in café and the menu clearly showed cartooned glass / plastic mugs. Nevertheless, my passion cooler was a thirst quenching fruit tea; it was full of ice though and before long, I was down to my last drip. 

Nine pieces in total. And please don't ask what they are called as I would never have known since the labels, was in Thai. Even if they were in English, I doubt I would remember anyway. 

Alex almost wanted to purchase a few boxes for our neighbors, without trying and he was so pleased we decided to buy a few for the sake of sampling. In a nutshell, not exactly our cup of tea. Texture for the biscuit like ones were soft, not crunchy with a sweet, milky yet perfumed flavor that didn't impress. 

As you can probably determine from the above; we took just a few small bites and decided not to waste our limited calories intake. The only one I enjoyed was the eggy foi thong (golden egg yolk threads); rest was just meh to be frank but do note that out of 23 on display, we only tried 9. 

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Address 

696 ซอย เจริญนคร Khlong Ton Sai, Khlong San, 

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10600, Thailand

Map

As above.

Pricing

Royal Thai Desserts - 15 baht a piece

Queen Roselle - 90 baht

Passion Cooler - 90 baht

Additional Information

Supposed to be low sugar.

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok