Mrs. Cheng's is owned by Mao Tzeng and his wife, Mei-Liang. They were pharmacists in Taiwan who moved to Hawaii in 1984 for the sake of educational opportunities for their two children. They took over the company from Hui C. Cheng, who had been making tofu in Palolo for years, but was ready to retire. While they were not tofu veterans, Mao Tzeng said, his aunt had a tofu shop in Taiwan. "So I had the basic idea since I was a child." He studied up, with Cheng and with experts in Japan. In the process, Tzeng said, he has tried every kind of tofu. He defines quality as a good bean flavor, with a bit of sweetness and an aftertaste "like spring water," plus a texture that is very smooth and not too porous, so it holds up when served or cooked. The scent of soybean is also critical, he said. "You can smell it. It's aroma. That's good tofu." The company's main line is its extra-firm nigari tofu, which Tzeng said is a style traditional in China, but was also common generations ago in Japan. Nigari is Japanese for magnesium chloride, drawn from the minerals in sea water, the coagulant used to turn soy milk into this specific type of tofu. Mrs. Cheng's Soybean Products also makes soy milk, cheese, tofu pudding and okara (soybean meal) in a modest factory on Kalihi Street, every day but Saturday.

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