Tofu, or soft tofu, as it is known in the West, is a Vietnamese traditional snack made of soy beans. It is called Tau Hu in South Vietnam and Tao Pho in the North.

Tofu is made by first grinding the beans and then cooking it with additional ingredients until it becomes white and smooth, with a pudding-like texture and quality. Traditionally, it is then accompanied with hot ginger syrup and cooked coconut milk.

Tofu is easy to find, as it is sold almost everywhere, usually by old women who place the famous street food in containers and balance them between a bamboo pole on their shoulders. Moreover, and perhaps best of all, it is very affordable despite its delicious taste.

Through time however, some high-end diners saw an opportunity in the popular food and innovated it to become a restaurant, therefore more pricey, dish. HAT is one of those eateries, located at Thu Duc District and owned and founded by Dinh Tuan An. According to him, he used to sell tofu in its traditional style but saw a potential to develop it so despite the challenges, he proceeded with his instincts and obviously succeeded.

HAT serves one-of-a-kind tofu in several ways. One is like a cocktail, making it first with the original ingredient soy beans. For a modern twist, it is then mixed with Cochinchin gourd or Vietnamese gac and pandan, giving it a greenish, reddish color instead of the traditional white. Instead of a small bowl like in the streets, this concoction is served in a high glass. It is then paired with lotus seed, coconut milk, syrup (not cooked with vinegar) and coconut milk. The other way HAT prepares tofu is by cooking it with nep cam (violet glutinous rice), suong sao (grass jelly made from mesona chinensis) and red beans. HAT also serves hot tofu with lotus seed.

The Gioi Tau Hu (Tofu World) at District 1 and Tofu Shop in Binh Thanh District are other diners that serve tofu with a new appeal. The traditional street food is levelled up by either serving it with ice, jasmine water or nhan nhuc (arillus longanae) or combining it with banh lot, a sweet rice pasta dessert made with rice, salt, tapioca flour, coconut milk, sugar and water; or coffee, cream, caramel, fruit jelly, or flan (caramel custard).

There are other more diners that transform the traditional tofu into a high-quality restaurant meal. And despite the price rocketing up to three to four times more expensive than the original cost (street food tofu being only VND5,000), many customers still decide to try and in fact patronize the high-end tofu, most probably because of its interesting appearance and exciting taste.

Most eateries today serve both the traditional and modern tofu. It all comes down to the personal preference of the guest. But whether traditional or modern, one is assured of a satisfying treat brought by this unassuming, originally street food tofu.