Lai Mama Tofu Pudding (Heping Old Street)

Review

Lai Mama Tofu Pudding has served Daxi for more than fifty years. Supertaste notes that it started around the Daxi Gymnasium before moving onto the old street, where it now has several shops. This branch at No. 44 Heping Road is spacious, bright and renovated, the one visitors are most likely to pass, and it often appears on must-eat lists for Daxi Old Street.

The signature is traditional tofu pudding with a choice of sugar syrup, ginger or soy milk as the base, served hot or cold. Pick any three toppings, or order the signature special with five. The pudding is firm with real chew, not the melt-in-the-mouth silky kind, and it does not lean on a caramelised flavour. The most recommended topping is the house-made square chewy ball, satisfyingly bouncy, often paired with mung beans or taro balls. One bowl is just right as a snack.

Fans like the friendly prices, the wide choice of toppings, the warm, gentle ginger base and the clean, comfortable shop. Criticism mostly concerns texture: lovers of silky pudding find it too firm, and some think the bean flavour is strong and the sweetness ordinary, calling it a solid traditional bowl rather than a revelation.

The Heping Old Street shop opens roughly 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and no fixed closing day appears online, but check before you go. Supertaste records a bowl at NT$50, so expect NT$50 to NT$100 with toppings. Weekend afternoons are busiest, though tables turn over quickly. Use the car parks around the old street. The bright interior makes it a good place to rest.

Good for anyone who wants a light dessert or a place to sit after walking the old street, and easy with children or older relatives. In winter, go for the ginger base with chewy balls and taro balls; in summer, sugar syrup with ice. If you like a strong bean taste, try the soy milk base, and picking three toppings gives the most flexibility.