The smell of stinky tofu will no longer waft down the streets of downtown San Mateo, as China Bee is set to close in the next two weeks. The restaurant’s final day of operations is scheduled for Dec. 18. Stinky tofu, a Taiwanese and Chinese street snack most recognized for its odorous allure, is made by soaking tofu in a usually secret, and certainly personal, family recipe of fermented milk, vegetables and herbs before barbecuing, braising, steaming or deep frying it.
The restaurant, at 31 S B St., first opened in 1992. Owners David and Ellen Bee, with the help of their daughter Nancy, ran the operation for three decades, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
The closure was announced across multiple social media outlets.
“It has been our greatest honor to not only build our family business but to share with our community the recipes we’ve carried across generations,” read the posts. “We are grateful for the opportunity to have served you and our hearts are full with the memories and stories we have exchanged over all the breakfast, lunches, and dinners.”
Fans expressed their sadness, gratitude and appreciation in the comments.
“You will be greatly missed,” said one Facebook user with a heart emoji. “My parents took us here when we were kids, and we’ve since taken our kids to you.”
“We have so many fond memories of going there. What a sad post to see,” another said. “You are such a wonderful restaurant and family – it shows in your dishes made with TLC. We will miss you so much.”
SFGATE was unable to reach the owners for comment by the time of publication.
The Taiwanese restaurant is known for spicy beef and noodle soup, Chinese sausage fried rice, minced pork over rice with a tea egg, and, of course, the stinky tofu, which is served draped with pickled cabbage and carrots atop the fried triangles of bean curd.
“Thank you for the love and support over the past thirty years,” the family wrote in its goodbye post. “And for sharing in the joy that can only come from discovering stinky tofu.”
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