A few days ago, we travelled to Shanghai to attend an art book fair. When we arrived, it was already at dinner time. With a bit tiresome and little appetite after a long flight, we wanted to eat some vegan or light food for dinner.

‘If you don’t know what to eat, try some tofu.’ It was originally a joke and game at home. But it did work sometimes. When I searched the keyword of ‘tofu’ on Gaode Map, the first restaurant recommended to us turned out surprisingly to be the bakery that we had been very fond of.

OK, let’s revisit the old haunt.

O‘Mills is located in the southern area of Jing’an Center. In the past year, shopping malls in many big cities in China have been updating rapidly and Shanghai is no exception. O’Mills has renovated the design too: the space is more open and brighter, changing from the original bar style to a trendy brunch bistro style, which has more popularity in China now.

O’Mills’s sourdough bread is a must-buy for us every time we visit. We packed a sourdough bread first and were attracted by the tofu variety on the menu. We ordered all the tofu dishes in one go: an open-faced black garlic countryside bread sandwich topped with tofu, lotus-root and avocado , a tofu avocado salad, and a serving of salmon.

We often make open sandwiches at home. But this one, made with Tofu and lotus-roots, is still pleasantly out of our expectation:

The bottom is a piece of wild yeast country bread slice contained roasted sweet black garlic, which was very special; The sauce is avocado puree (perhaps with tofu added); At the top, there are diced tofu, small tomatoes, vegetable seedlings, white sesame seeds, and crispy lotus root slices, creating a rustic and graceful conception.

This is the first time to find that lotus root is so delicious when it is crisp, like Prawn cracker; And tofu flakes are also pre-fried and seasoned, such as flavory cheese.

To tell the truth, we hadn’t expected these Chinese ingredients to perform so well in Western style open sandwiches, so as to can’t help giving a thumb up.

As for the tofu avocado salad, it uses lightly pan-fried tofu dices, and has a juicy black pepper sauce flavor. Other ingredients include fresh lettuces, avocado, cherry tomatoes, roasted corns, mashed sweet potatoes, and turmeric quinoa. And the tofu chunks, paired with a sour and sweet vinegar oil dressing, tastes like small delicious bombs on the tongue.

Never expecting to have such a pleasant experience of eating tofu in a sourdough bakery, we found this trip to Shanghai more interesting.

And the story between Shanghai and tofu has not ended. Just the day before leaving Shanghai, we were taking a walk on the street casually when we suddenly discovered a small shop called FanDoufu ( Meaning ‘flipping tofu on the grill’ ).

The shop seemed to have been ready for business but the door was closed. We were curious but didn’t have time to wait. After returning home two days later, we searched online and found that on the second day we left, the shop started its trial business.

It is a small restaurant specializing in Yunnan sour juice tofu. Although the tofu itself can already be purchased from supermarkets or online, the flipping grilling skill is quite rare outside of Yunnan. In Yunnan people like to sit around and flip the tofu on a special grill. It is not only a traditional food but also a minority lifestyle that appears on the streets of modern Shanghai.

A bit regrets. More expectations. Tofu is such a magical food, from the traditional Chinese street food to the exquisite Western restaurants, this trip to Shanghai once again made us believe it.