City Officials Forced This Restaurant to Remove Its ‘Stinky’ Signature Dish. Now It’s Fighting Back.

Something stinks in San Gabriel, California. A restaurant called Golden Leaf lost its most popular dish and 20% of its revenue after the city ordered it to stop selling stinky tofu following complaints from neighbors, according to the LA Times.

The fermented Taiwanese street food had been on the menu since the family opened the restaurant in 2014. But nearby residents complained about the pungent odor. One woman called so often she blocked the restaurant’s phone line, preventing customers from ordering.

The city issued multiple violation notices and over $1,000 in fines, forcing the restaurant to remove the dish from its menu. But Liao is petitioning to bring stinky tofu back, arguing it’s culturally significant to the Taiwanese community. The city suggested a $100,000 filtration system as a solution, but it won’t guarantee it will work.