Lunch Today: Pan Fried Bean Curd at Shanghai Café

[Photo: Alice Gao]

We've been on a tofu kick recently at Serious Eats. In its pure form, sure, refreshing and virtuous. But we've got no problem loading it down with meat and oil, either.

$10 is a lot for a plate of tofu in Chinatown, but the Pan Fried Bean Curd at Shanghai Cafe is a massive pile of food that could easily feed two with some rice on the side. The tofu itself is the reason to order it: hearty, thick slices firm enough to hold together, but soft and slippery and clean in flavor when they fall apart under your teeth. Greens and crumbled pork bits round it out. They're in a simple brown sauce that we agreed was a little salty (even to our taste) and a little MSG-y, but it's still a plenty satisfying plate of food.

Shanghai Cafe

100 Mott Street, New York NY 10013 (map) 212-966-3988

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