Plum Street - Runcorn

If you wanted to trap a Taiwanese boy, what would you use as bait? Anecdotally the answer seems to be tofu or generally soy based products. Of all the places I have enjoyed tofu, there are none that really beat Plum Street in their home made tofu. With that in mind, we went with a friend last Friday for what could be best described as a tofu banquet. 

There was a bit of change in the menu from the last time I was here, with a shift from focus on individual rice and noodle dishes to a focus on shared mains to be accompanied with rice, they were still distinctly traditional Taiwanese dishes. 

Starting off, we had complimentary peanuts which were crisp and lightly salted. A traditional appetizer that you don't really see much in Brisbane.

First to arrive was the mapo tofu which we had with our side of steamed rice. The tofu here is freshly made and I can really taste the difference. It was silky and smooth but with substance in a way that wasn't too dense. The mince was meaty and the sauce was just spicy enough. I really liked this dish.

One of the meat dishes we had was the black pepper with beef. It came stir fried with an abundance of other veggies such as capsicum and lotus root. The beef was also had a good amount of spice and the beef was exceptionally tender. I only wish there was a little more beef to go with the dish.

We had a dish that was aptly named Salt and Pepper Chicken Strips. I had expected something akin to the Taiwanese popcorn chicken batter but it was instead a tempura base with an ample amount of salt and pepper sprinkled on top. The batter was thick and there wasn't too much chicken inside. This would definitely have to be the weak dish of the evening.

Not usually stepping up to make much decisions when it came to ordering, Dr L opted for some Deep Fried Tofu. The portion was huge and it was again the dense but light freshly made tofu in a light tempura batter with some sweet plum sauce on top. It was crisp outside and silky soft inside. I could eat this every day and never get tired of it.

We also had a serve of the hot and sour soup. It was filled to the brim with ingredients, mainly also tofu and egg along with some black fungus, mushrooms and carrots. Although not overly sour or hot, it was extremely wholesome, smooth and all round delicious. Definitely one to come back for. Also one serve yields six bowls, so it is also definitely good value for money.

My definite favourite of the night though, as if we didn't have enough tofu, was the Tofu Fa. It was served chilled although I would have preferred slightly warm. It was doused in a thick gingery sugar syrup as it is traditionally served. The tofu was unbelievably smooth with a strong soy taste to it. The sugary syrup was just sweet enough not to be overly sweet. Would come back for this alone.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 9/10