It was another of those days where I was faced with making/buying a decent and healthy lunch or going for the easy option. At the time, I was glad I went for the option, but I didn't have the same view after I tasted my meal. It was the peak of lunchtime on a weekend. The Grand Tofu was crowded, busy, noisy and squishy. Tables are sticky and cramped next to each other.
While the prices are cheap, you ain’t getting much quality from it. My Ipoh chicken and chives noodle soup was just rice noodles in MSG-seasoned water with a few slivers of tough chicken breast, the thinnest slivers of fish cake, bland frozen prawns and a few snippets of chives. I didn’t finish it as I felt my MSG-induced headache arrived on cue.
Of the two dishes, the Lawyer’s combination hor fun was the better one, but that’s not saying a lot. While it had a reasonable amount of fish cake, squid, prawn and chicken, none of it was particularly tasty and they were all bland in flavour. Once again, The Grand Tofu relies on MSG for flavour than the quality of the ingredients.
Verdict
Food – 5.5
Service – 6Ambiance – 5.5
Price – 6
Overall
We left there feeling rather unsatisfied with our lunch. I wish I had made the effort to cook myself a simple lunch – it would have been tastier, cheaper and healthier.
While this is a cheap eats sort of place, I would say it’s rather over-priced for the quality of food that’s served. I can't understand why this place is so popular. The only good thing about the place is that the food comes out quickly.
Address
The Grand Tofu
102 Kingsway
Glen Waverley 3150
Telephone: 9560 1700
Agree entirely - I find the grand tofu to be subpar to most of the restaurants along the Kingsway strip - my laksa was disgustingly oily and flavourless! :(
ReplyDeleteHi Ming, thanks for reading :)
ReplyDeleteYep, I can't understand why the Grand Tofu is so popular, though?!
I think you should try their curry or Tom yum "Yong Tao fu", their fried rice are preety good too, that's the only dish I recommand, other dishes are really not good at grand tofu.
ReplyDeleteHey Anon, thanks for reading :)
ReplyDeleteI do think we ordered the wrong dishes - I know that they're known for their stuffed tofu/veg. It's hard for me to pick yong tao fu when there's hor fun (I love hor fun!).