Nanjing Fuxing food | A-Duo Crispy Stinky Tofu & Ba-wan: an old Xing’an Street shop with full-flavored tofu and unexpectedly good daikon soup
Xing’an Street near Nanjing Fuxing has long had plenty of local snacks and dinner options. A-Duo is right on the street, open from noon 12 to night 11, quite late for a stinky-tofu and ba-wan shop and useful for dinner or late-night eating around Nanjing Fuxing.
A-Duo started as an unnamed stall around Liaoning Street and only took its current name after moving to Xing’an Street. It has operated for more than 25 years, with a very simple menu centered on stinky tofu and ba-wan, plus fish-ball soup or pork-ball and daikon soup.
Location and transport
A-Duo is at 台北市中山區興安街 72 號, near Nanjing Fuxing. From Exit 1, the walk is about 7 minutes.
Xing’an Street has plenty of small food shops, with office-worker traffic in the daytime and nearby residents looking for dinner at night. Compared with chain restaurants on major roads, it feels more like a local neighborhood food strip.
By MRT the distance is manageable. It is also easy to stop by for stinky tofu or soup if you are walking over from Liaoning Street Night Market or the Nanjing Fuxing commercial area.
Interior and dining atmosphere
A-Duo has few seats and limited indoor space; often diners sit under an awning by the road. It is neither refined nor designed for long conversations, but follows the traditional street-snack format.
If dining environment matters a lot, takeaway may be better. If you are comfortable with roadside snack-shop atmosphere, eating the stinky tofu immediately after frying gives the fullest flavor.
Overall, this is a very direct snack shop: order stinky tofu and ba-wan, add a bowl of soup, eat and move on. There is little packaging or polish, but plenty of old-shop everyday character.
Menu and ordering
The menu is simple. Stinky tofu and ba-wan are the main items, while soups include fish-ball soup and pork-ball daikon soup. On a first visit, order the stinky tofu with a bowl of Pork Ball & Daikon Soup; add ba-wan if you want a fuller meal.
One important note: both stinky tofu and ba-wan come with a lot of mashed garlic or garlic sauce. If you do not eat much garlic, ask for less or none when ordering. Chili sauce is available on the table and has real heat, so start with a small amount.
Stinky Tofu
A-Duo’s stinky tofu announces itself before you even bite. It follows the “hollowed center” style: a small hole is cut into the tofu and filled with plenty of garlic sauce, concentrating sauce and garlic inside the tofu.
If you like garlic, it is satisfying. The first bite brings savory garlic sauce, followed by the fermented aroma of the tofu itself. The flavor is strong and complete; garlic-averse diners should ask for an adjustment first.
Texturally, this is not a very airy stinky tofu full of holes. It is firmer and denser, while the outside is more chewy than extremely crisp. For a stronger crisp-shell effect, ask the owner to fry it crisper.
The pickles are sweet-sour and not very spicy, helping cut some of the garlic and oil. The table chili sauce is powerful; a little quickly raises the heat, so spice lovers can try it but should not add too much at once.
Overall the stinky tofu tastes good, with both garlic and fermented aroma clearly present. If you like firm tofu and assertive garlic, this style will probably suit you.
Ba-wan
A-Duo’s ba-wan is cooked in low-temperature oil. After lifting it from the fryer, the owner pours on plenty of sauce and adds a good amount of cilantro. It looks traditionally familiar, and the sweet-savory sauce with mashed garlic is one of its better points.
The wrapper is springy but noticeably thick, so its presence grows as you chew. Pork and dried bamboo shoots make up the firm filling and have enough flavor, though the dish is less distinctive than the stinky tofu and soup.
If you already like ba-wan, it is worth adding alongside stinky tofu. But if you only want one or two items, I find the tofu and daikon soup more memorable. The ba-wan is not bad; it is simply more standard and lacks one standout feature.
Pork Ball & Daikon Soup
Although the sign highlights stinky tofu and ba-wan, the biggest surprise this time was the Pork Ball & Daikon Soup. The broth has a gentle natural sweetness, seemingly built from pork bones and white radish, without feeling oily and with a mild sweet finish.
The daikon is simmered very soft and full of broth without bitterness. The soup is mild and warming, and works especially well to balance strongly flavored stinky tofu or ba-wan.
The pork balls themselves are a safe, straightforward element, but the broth and daikon are genuinely good. On a first visit, do not order only stinky tofu; this bowl deserves to come with it.
Who it suits
A-Duo suits anyone looking for food near Nanjing Fuxing, snacks on Xing’an Street, or stinky tofu in Taipei. It is not refined street food, but very traditional stinky tofu and ba-wan with the feeling of an old roadside shop.
If you like strong garlic and a pronounced fermented tofu aroma, A-Duo is a good match. If you prefer extremely crisp, puffed stinky tofu, ask for a crisper fry when ordering or simply do not set your expectations around crunch.
It also works for a simple snack at night. Staying open until night 11 makes it a practical dinner or late-night option near Nanjing Fuxing.
Store information
A-Duo Crispy Stinky Tofu & Ba-wan
Address: 台北市中山區興安街 72 號
Phone: 02-2502-0490
Hours: 12:00～23:00
Closed: Sunday and every other Saturday
Transport: about a 7-minute walk from Exit 1 of Nanjing Fuxing
Recommended: Stinky Tofu, Pork Ball & Daikon Soup
Afterword
A-Duo feels closely tied to everyday Xing’an Street. The setting is not especially comfortable and seating is limited, but the stinky tofu has enough flavor and a lot of garlic, making it a natural fit for people who like old-school roadside tofu. The ba-wan is solid with a good sauce, though less distinctive.
The biggest memory from this visit was actually the Pork Ball & Daikon Soup. The broth is sweet and clear, the radish very soft, and the bowl is comfortable to drink with strongly flavored stinky tofu. The name of the shop may make you overlook the soup, but after tasting it, it feels like a hidden highlight.
If you are walking near Nanjing Fuxing or want a Taipei snack shop around Xing’an Street that stays open late, A-Duo is worth saving. For a first visit, pair stinky tofu with daikon soup, and start both the mashed garlic and chili in small amounts so you can find your preferred balance.
