Soy Desserts by Soy Bar @ Pandan Indah

I don't indulge in sweet desserts all that much but one sweet thing I can't say no to is a soy dessert that's more commonly known here as tau fu fah.  And, of late, there has been a resurgence in popularity of this soy dessert and drink due to its reinvention.

Many of us grew up eating tau fu fah (soy bean curd) and drinking tau cheong sui (soya bean drinks) but we'd usually get this from the soy bean uncle or aunty via a roadside stall/truck.  But this simple childhood dessert has been elevated (along with its prices!) and reinvented in the likes of Soybean Factory, Soyya, Soylab, Soy Nest, Tono Soymilk, Bean Jr, Dao Desserts (just to name a few) that are dedicated to just soybean-related desserts.

So, I was pleasantly surprised one day to find a stall selling just that, Soy Desserts by Soy Bar, in one of my neighbourhood coffee shops.  I think this branch was opened a few months ago (sometime in May but I only noticed them recently).  A check on FB shows that they usually open outlets in coffee shops (that's probably the reason they can keep their prices low) + they also sell their products through their own website, Soy Bar. The prices of this one is more down to earth unlike some "atas" soy bean cafes! >_<  I can't imagine paying more than RM10 (some even above RM15) for a soy dessert as simple as tau fu fah with some fancy condiments (but nicely plated and presented-lah, of course).

Ah, this stall offers pricing that's more to my liking....hee...hee.  So I started with their Cold Bean Curd @ RM4 a tub.  Oh my, very nice-lah.....especially when it comes chilled....which is great eaten in our hot weather! ^o^  It comes already sweetened...and the best part is...it's only lightly sweet which is ideal for me.

But in case you like it sweeter, you can always ask them for additional 'sweeteners'.  They serve their soy desserts with 3 types of sugar syrup....plain (or white) sugar, black sugar or ginger sugar.

I chose the dark sugar (just to see what it tastes like).  They call it black sugar (which is actually brown sugar or wong tong).  Unfortunately, I didn't like the taste of this wong tong (not among the better ones I've had) and would prefer to go without it (ah, if it's good gula melaka, then it might be a different story-lah). Anyway, the light sweetness is already cukup (enough) for me.

This jiggly soy pudding has the taste of soy with a very smooth texture that glides effortlessly down your throat.  There are some people who can even taste a soy dessert and say it does not carry enough soy flavour, well....I wouldn't know about that coz my tongue is not so sharp (all soy desserts taste of soy to me...lol).

And the best thing about a chilled soy pudding is that you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days (that means you can buy more at one go!) and fulfill your need for something cold anytime of the day.  If you need to order many tubs, I suggest you order direct from their website coz at RM40 for an order of 10 tubs, you get 2 tubs free (+ delivery is also free for orders above RM30).

After trying out the cold bean curd, it's time for the hot version....they call this the Traditional Bean Curd @ RM3.  It's certainly smooth and slurp-worthy...but is it any better than any good (and cheaper) tau fu fah you can get from a roadside vendor?  Well, I can't really say I detected (or tasted) any difference.

The only difference I see is that you can choose to eat this hot bean curd with ginger sugar (the tau fu fah vans usually offer only white and brown sugar).  Some ginger syrup, you can't taste the ginger...but you can with this one.  You get a nice, subtle kick from the ginger but do remember to goncang (shake) your little tub (before you pour) coz the ginger tends to settle at the bottom.

At RM3 a tub, it's (of course) cheaper than the cold bean curd and you get probably twice (maybe even triple) the amount.  I couldn't finish it in one go (after breakfast) and left the balance in the fridge.  Some might think, hey, I can just leave it in the fridge and it'll be just like cold bean curd.  No it won't! :D  Coz, from experience, they tend to leak out water and your tau fu fah will be all watery.

After trying the conventional hot bean curd, I decided to go for a fancier one.....with toppings!  This is the Four Kinds of Beancurd @ RM7.  Go big or go home, right? :D  As its name implies, the beancurd comes with four toppings (at a very good price too, I might add).  I asked for plain sugar syrup as I think it'll go best with all the different toppings.

The toppings they have include grass jelly, red bean, peanut and glutinous rice balls.  If you get the beancurd with only one topping, it'll cost RM5 irrespective of the choice of topping.  But I went for all four...what better way to try which topping I like best than to try all four, right? ;)  Some of the toppings were packed separately.

The red beans topping turned out to be a firm favourite.

If you want the least sweet topping, that would be the grass jelly.

The glutinous rice balls were chewy but soft as they should be...and also not too sweet.

I first thought the peanut topping would be an odd pairing and the least successful but I was glad to be proven wrong as the pairing did work.  It turned out more enjoyable than I expected as the crushed peanuts (it comes with sugar, bummer for me but yippee for others) gave the soft beancurd a nice, fragrant bite. With the sugar in the peanuts providing the sweetness required, I didn't need to add any further sugar syrup at all.

All in all, it was a nice soy dessert and now that I've tried all four toppings (they're not as fancy as some of those places which offer many toppings to choose from), I'll probably stick with red beans or (the occasional) crushed peanuts if I want this again (or maybe even both, hehehe!).

Their soya bean drinks come in a few flavours...red bean, black sesame, honeydew, chocolate, pumpkin and black soy (made with black beans) priced between RM5 - RM8 a bottle.  There's also the original (with or without sugar).  I'm not into flavoured soymilk, so I got the soya bean drink (original) priced at RM5 a bottle...one unsweetened and one with sugar.

If you ask me if it tastes any different from the cheaper ones we can get from the soya bean trucks, I can't say I detected any difference.  A soya bean drink is a soya bean drink...and a cold drink on a hot day to quench our thirst is what they're meant for.  Soymilk is a healthy drink we should drink more of (only if we choose the unsweetened option-lah)...but an unsweetened version isn't all that easy to drink I have to admit.

With 21 outlets (and counting) opened thus far, check their Facebook page to see if you're lucky enough to have one open in your neighbourhood coffee shops coz then you'll have easy access to one of the cheapest (not to mention delicious), somewhat fancy tau fu fah (chilled or hot) and soy bean drinks you can get.  Oops, before I forget, you'll find this stall in Restoran Xin Fu Ji (that also houses the well known Fuji Chicken Rice with its much sought-after char siew).  For those not from the area, it's located in a corner coffee shop opposite Public Bank.

The standout for me was the cold or chilled bean curd.  At least it's something you can't get from your regular soya bean truck, so I'll be sticking to that.  I've been having that mostly...with the occasional hot tau fu fah with red beans or crushed peanuts. ^_~

Soy Desserts by Soy Bar may not be as prettily presented or have as many fancy toppings as some of the other soy bean cafes but I don't miss the fanciful condiments coz a simple tau fu fah doesn't need to be glamourised as it's best eaten as it is (at least to me).  We don't need to mess around with something basic that's already so good as it is.  So, if you're up for something without so many fancy toppings, don't have to be fancily plated, not served in a fancy environment or don't need a fancy photo of, then you can give this cheaper (but just as good) alternative a try! ^_~

Update: Soybar has upped and left this location.  In its place is another soy dessert stall called Soykid.  Good news...they have moved to another coffee shop but still in Pandan Indah at K W Restaurant, a shop with great siu chow (one-dish meals).  They've upped and left again (will update if I stumble upon them again).