When I was ten, we lived in a suburban town called Yong He (永和). On weekends, Mom would leave change on the table. Brother and I would take the money to this place down the street to have breakfast. There was a grinder that liquefy soy beans into a giant pot. The pot-belly guy would stir the pot with a big ladle constantly. What I wanted would be the freshly made bowl of soy milk.
There are two kinds of soy milk then. The sweetened version taste rich and silky. A popular variation required an egg, pre-beaten before pouring in the boiling soy milk. The result was extra buttery and yummy. The soy sauced version has a crescendo of flavors that came from many condiments. I usually had a hard time deciding which one to get. Legend had it that Mr. and Mrs. Chiang Kai-Shek frequented the very same store. We were having royal foods just next door! They were not even expensive.
The standard companion to the soy milk is the Chinese pita. The cook will moisture their hands (to protect against the heat) and stick the raw pitas inside of a clay oven. Later, they would skillfully pry them off with an iron stick. The standard filler for the pita is the fried flour sticks (kind of like churros, but not sweet, pictured above) It was fascinating to watch the flour sticks expand ten-fold when dropped into the fryer. They come out fluffy like croissant, only crispy. When served with the Chinese pita, the cook would open the pita, fold the fried sticks into it, and press down to crush the sticks inside. When you bite into this thing, the hot bread and sesame aroma rushes into your nostril, the pita will have a nice crust outside and soft inside, the sticks will add the extra chunkiness to the texture.
Yong He has long became just a memory. My favorite soy milk place would be at the corner of FuXing S. Rd. and RuiAn St. (復興å—è·¯, 瑞安街). This Saturday, we woke up early just for it. There was a long line at the door. “7:45am. Really?” Wife asked. Fortunately, it was the to-go line and the eat-in area had no wait. We shouted out our orders and sat down. When I had the first bite, I sighed silently and almost closed my eyes. How I did not know those childhood memories can come back so vividly?