Monday, January 12, 2015

I-Tea Cafe - Irvine


I-Tea Cafe in Irvine serves stinky tofu, that maldorous deep-fried treat that smells as though someone purposely dipped a sweaty gym sock in the sewer, stuck it under your nose, and then farted in your face. That's how bad stinky tofu stinks.

But what's curious about the I-Tea is that despite the fact it serves stinky tofu, the rooms actually smells like pizza. Anywhere you sit inside the brightly lit restaurant, but especially underneath one of the main air vents, you get whiffs of doughy bread baking with marinara and cheese.



After a few visits, I realized it wasn't my imagination--it was pizza I was smelling. A Papa John's is right next door and apparently the ventilation systems are connected. And so when I actually ordered the stinky tofu, my nose was fooled into thinking I was eating pepperoni pizza while my mouth enjoyed the slightly bitter, slightly tangy, slighty spongy tofu cubes in a sweet-and-sour soy sauce slurry and topped with pickled veggies.

Don't get me wrong: it still reeks if you encounter a particularly ripe one, as though something died on your plate and started decomposing. But if you can stand Gruyere, you shouldn't be afraid of stinky tofu--it's just another wonderful product of fermentation. Besides that, it's the most Taiwanese thing you can order in a restaurant that, in my opinion, is one of the best Taiwanese joints in a town full of Taiwanese joints.



Yes, you can conceivably just drop in to have a milky slush (which is a boba drink that forgets the pretense that you need anything having to do with tea in a boba drink). You can even have the pork chop rice (which is as fine an example as any, and served in portions enough for two people). But what you should do is order from the snack menu, which has the stinky tofu and the gigantic plate of popcorn chicken, morsels of lightly battered chunks of dark meat sprinkled with a flurry of spicy-salt and crispy fried basil leaves.

As a palate cleanser, I always order some of the really great brined cucumbers with bits of raw garlic. And I never go to I-Tea without asking for the pidan tofu--blocks of chilled silken tofu doused with a sugary sauce and topped with a thousand-year-old egg, pork rousong and scallions--one of my all-time favorite things.

I ate it all together and wondered: if it smells like pizza in here, does it smell like stinky tofu at the Papa John's?

I-Tea Cafe
15435 Jeffrey Road
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 551-4832

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Twenty Eight- Irvine

4 Comments:

At 9:55 AM, Blogger Greg Hao said...

I-Tea Cafe in Irvine serves stinky tofu, that maldorous deep-fried treat that smells as though someone purposely dipped sweaty gym sock in the sewer, stuck it under your nose, and then farted in your face. That's how bad stinky tofu stinks.

Except, that's my problem with I-Tea and pretty much every place in America which sells stinky tofu.... not stinky enough!

And it's interesting that you like it so much while I think it's just okay. Though in the place's defense, I've only been there once in a big group (place is not really set up for that).

There's another place coming up soon, or may have already opened, Kingchops 金園排骨 (Jin Yuan Pai Gu) http://www.yelp.com/biz/kingchops-industry-2 which is also pretty good.

Have you been over to Tofu King over by the new 99? Their stinky tofu also isn't as fermented as I would like but their other stuff is also pretty good.

 
At 11:49 AM, Anonymous Dee said...

I like I-Tea's lunch special which includes the drinks. The food is good and much better than Class 302.

As a side note, Kingschop opened a couple of days ago.

 
At 12:51 PM, Blogger Greg Hao said...

@Dee - Sweet, thanks on both points!

@elmomonster - if you want to go check out Kingschop let me know.

 
At 4:25 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Greg,

I think the true Taiwanese litmus test is when they think a stinky tofu is "Not stinky enough"! I think you passed my friend!

Yes, Kingchops looks promising. I'll ping you!

Dee,

Thanks for the comment! I agree with you wholeheartedly. I like Class 302 (the one next to Wholesome Choice is better than the one at Irvine Marketplace), but both pale in comparison to I-Tea.

 

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