(This venue is closed.) Tung Woo's warm soy custard distinguishes itself in two ways.
Other New York soy custards come with a cloying brown syrup, which may hint at honey or ginger; Tung Woo's (small, about a pint, $1.25) is accompanied only by a clear, unflavored syrup, sparingly sweet. The texture is excellent, too. The just-scooped custard maintains its coherence (first photo below), leaving pockets along the edge of the container rather than collapse of its own weight. Even so, after a few passes from a plastic spoon, the custard goes all to pieces (second photo).
Soy custard is known by many other names, including soy pudding, taho, tofu fa, and dou fu hua — "bean curd flower," perhaps from that eventual loose-textured appearance. At Tung Woo, where signs for the various bean-based products are entirely in Chinese, you can also simply point to the container that sits on the counter, to the left. Usually it's empty by late afternoon.
Tung Woo
230 Grand St. (Elizabeth St.-Bowery), New York
