Hoang Thanh (+ Tofu for the Dentally Challenged)

LTH,

Been on soft foods the last week or so with an emphasis on tofu, twice at Hoang Thanh for Salt & Pepper Tofu and MaPo Tofu, Lao Sze Chuan for a MaPo Tofu lunch and So Gong Dong Tofu House's Ginseng Tofu Soup..

Hoang Thanh's Salt and Pepper Tofu, which was first mentioned by Peter D, is a real winner of a dish even for those not dentally challenged. Tofu cut in Scallop shape, crisp on the outside, soft, creamy, yielding inside. Served with a nice counterpoint of slightly sweet chunks of pickled cabbage.

Hoang Thanh's Salt and Pepper Tofu (Lunch special $4.95)


Hoang Thanh's MaPa Tofu, while not equal to Lao Sze Chuan or Spring World, is respectable.


Hoang Thanh's potstickers, with a house-made slightly sweet dipping sauce are quite good as well.


Gold Standard of Ma Po Tofu, Lao Sze Chuan


So Gong Dong Tofu House as a good place for those having dental work has been mentioned in the past by Zim, Vital and myself, but yesterdays lunch reaffirmed that this is one of the better places around for those who are looking for a little oooomph in their soft foods. No pictures, but my Ginseng Tofu Soup, spicy please, is a great dish even for those able to chew.

I was also reminded just how far a word or two in the appropriate language can take you. Tofu House serves the rice in a stone pot, which the waitress scoops out for you and then, for reasons unknown, pours a little tea in the pot to soften the crisp rice. As soon as she reached for the tea I said I prefer my Dolsot rice crisp. She smiled, put down the tea, and came back a few moments later with a small dish of grilled mackerel, which I think she previously assumed I would not like.

Couple more days of soft foods, hummmm, matzoth ball soup with a side of gefilte fish sounds pretty darn good

Enjoy,
Gary.

Hoang Thanh
1129 W Argyle
Chicago, IL 60640
773-271-7328

Lao Sze Chuan
2172 S. Archer
Chicago, IL 60646
312-326-5040.
http://www.laoszechuan.com

So Gong Dong Tofu House
3307 W Bryn Mawr Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-539-8377

Gary,

that salt and pepper tofu looks very good. It looks very similar to something we usually order at silver seafood (it's not on the menu, but they will make if asked) At silver seafood (and IIRC at shui wah) we were given the choice of "chinese tofu" or "japanese tofu" The japanese tofu is what you want, little round disks of intense creamy goodness.

Hoang Thanh, home of wonderful salt and pepper tofu and in my experience not much else, seems to be no more. In its place is "Pho Something or Other" (not necessarily a completely accurate transcription), which presumably will have a more Vietnamese focus. Any suggestions for a replacement to satisfy my S&P tofu cravings (aside from Silver Seafood and Shui Wah)?

cilantro wrote:Any suggestions for a replacement to satisfy my S&P tofu cravings (aside from Silver Seafood and Shui Wah)?

Cilantro,

Sorry to hear Hoang Thang is no more, the S & P tofu was a favorite. Far as replacement, Chinese Kitchen in Westmont, a JeffB RBI,* is close to, if not equal, to Hoang Thanh in the S & P Tofu department.

Chinese Kitchen Salt and Pepper Tofu


Enjoy,
Gary

Chinese Kitchen
6551 S. Cass Ave
Westmont, IL
630-968-3876

*Recommended But Ignored

cilantro wrote:Hoang Thanh, home of wonderful salt and pepper tofu and in my experience not much else

A shame. I've actually had quite a few very good dishes there, including an excellent beef in black pepper sauce.

Cookie is a big HT fan, we'll miss it.

Best,
Michael

I too am sorry it's gone, the S&P tofu was a favortie of my daughters', I also enjoyed the spicy short ribs there.

not far from there, Silver seafood has a salt and pepper "japanese" tofu that's pretty good.

Make sure you get it with the "japanese" tofu as it is the soft egg variety used at hoang thanh rather than the standard "chinese" tofu

zim wrote:I too am sorry it's gone, the S&P tofu was a favortie of my daughters', I also enjoyed the spicy short ribs there.

not far from there, Silver seafood has a salt and pepper "japanese" tofu that's pretty good.

Make sure you get it with the "japanese" tofu as it is the soft egg variety used at hoang thanh rather than the standard "chinese" tofu

They will also do this tofu with black mushrooms or when available, with the large King mushrooms from Canada. This used to be offered as a specialfrom time to time. Haven't seen it recently. In fact it seems SS has stopped posting specials entirely (which is unfortunate as many were quite good). Despite this, they have really been on recently. I've enjoyed several outstanding meals there over the last few months.