Beimen Douhua Introduction
Lin Shih-Hsiang (born 1951) came to Beimen from Taipei with friends to work and married Wang Jin-Xiang, becoming the son-in-law of Beimen. After marriage, to supplement the family income, he began thinking about starting a side business. His younger brother, who lived in Taipei and had run a tofu pudding shop for many years, was about to close down, so he sold the tofu-making equipment to Lin Shih-Hsiang and passed on the techniques for making tofu pudding, which marked the beginning of a more than 30-year history of selling Beimen tofu pudding. Lin Shih-Hsiang worked during the day and made tofu pudding and brewed black tea at night, allowing his wife to sell tofu pudding and black tea the next day while taking care of their children. Wang Jin-Xiang pushed the cart every day, rain or shine, to sell in front of the old public office; when it was torn down, they moved to the front of the old police station. After the old police station was demolished, they set up shop next to the Jinlu Temple, and back then, it was the only stall in the entire temple courtyard. Beimen tofu pudding is available in both cold and hot varieties; in winter, both cold and hot tofu pudding are sold, while in summer, only cold tofu pudding is available. Traditional black tea is sold year-round. Initially, Beimen tofu pudding offered three flavors: red bean, green bean, and sweet potato; nowadays, it primarily features red bean and tapioca flavors, with red bean being popular and widely sought after, while tapioca appeals to the younger crowd. Today, young people also enjoy black tea tofu...
