Halifax's tofu maker brought Taiwan to Canada

Food writerPay Chen can remember her parents working long hours for little pay when they moved to Canada fromTaiwan.

She alsoremembers how hard her parents worked for very little pay. But she also remembers there always being foodfor her and her brother to eat, especially tofu.

"I do have memories of my dad bringing it fresh and it still beingwarm that's something that most people won't get toexperience is having it just out of the mold being able to eat it warm with soy sauce, garlicor green onion," saidChen.

Information Morning - NS6:42Tofu has become a staple in the refrigerators of many Maritimers

Taiwanese-born, Halifax-raised, and Toronto-residing food writer Pay Chen remembers watching her father make blocks of beautiful silken tofu as a child. She also remembers how hard her parents worked to make sure that she and her brother were well tak

They found it difficult to find the flavours from home when they moved to Halifax.

Chen's father couldn'tfind work so he began making tofu and selling it in the city.

Chen's parentsran a stall in a food court as well as making all of the tofu. To spend time with him, Pay and her brotherwent on deliveries with their father.

"I think we really got in the way and we had to stay in the car ...we liked to go pick up prawn chips or poky and my dad realized it was costing him money to have us go on deliveries with him," she said.

"For us too it was a way of spending some time with him because my parents worked so often."

Today, Chen's fatherisn't doing deliveries, but he does still sell his tofu at the Halifax Seaport Market.

"There are a lot of people in Halifax and Nova Scotia who have probably come across my parents at some point orcome across their tofu and make didn't realize the work that went into it and even the history of them making it in Nova Scotia."