A New Shop in LA’s San Gabriel Valley Serves ‘Duck Shit’ Lemon Tea and Stinky Tofu

Lulala Lemon Tea, Los Angeles’s first-ever specialty perfume lemon tea and stinky tofu shop, opened on February 7 in San Gabriel from Shanghai native Dia Zhao and Chris Wang, who hails from Changsha, Hunan. One of Lulala’s specialties is the oddly named Phoenix Oolong “duck shit” tea, which, of course, doesn’t contain any duck excrement. Instead, it’s an oolong tea leaf known for its distinct honey aroma. The name’s origins are contentious, with some attributing the tea to the first farmer who cultivated it using duck manure as fertilizer, while others say he named it that way to deter others from stealing his growing techniques.

At Lulala, Zhao prepares his specialty Phoenix Oolong with nearly lime-green-colored perfume lemons (which are also called Xiangshui lemons), which are brushed to release the oils and then crushed by hand. In addition to the “duck shit” oolong tea, the lemon is paired with jasmine and black tea, resulting in a tart and floral drink that bursts with citrus flavors. Operating out of the 1,100-square-foot space in the San Gabriel Promenade that was previously the Nest Tea boba shop, the tea offers a handful of tables to enjoy food and drinks on-site, set in a bright room lined with anime action figures and faux wall greenery.

While “duck shit” tea has long been popular — especially in the San Gabriel Valley, where trends from China and across Asia tend to land first — zesty, seedless perfume lemons are a more recent arrival. According to Zhao, perfume lemons were first crossbred in Taiwan around 2010. They gained widespread popularity in 2018 when large-scale orchards in Guangdong, China, began cultivating them for mass production and export. The fruit’s floral aroma and zippy flavor quickly made it a sensation across Asia, inspiring a wave of dessert and beverage shops specializing in perfume lemon drinks.

Catching on to this trend, Zhao started making drinks out of the back of his Tesla, beginning in June 2024, at what has now become a spontaneous night market in front of the San Gabriel Superstore in San Gabriel. Zhao’s drinks quickly grew in popularity, with some waiting up to two hours for a taste.

While serving his tea at the market, Zhao met Chris Wang, who was selling stinky tofu at a popular neighboring stall called Lao Changsha Chou Dou Fu. Wang’s stand specializes in Changsha-style stinky tofu, a beloved street food from his hometown of Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. Unlike Sichuan-style stinky tofu, which is softer and typically submerged in chile oil, Changsha’s version is known for its black, crispy exterior and bold, spicy flavor. After deep-frying until it has a crackly crust, the tofu’s interior remains tender.

Wang’s process starts with fresh soybeans, which he soaks, grinds, and presses into tofu by hand. Unlike mass-produced tofu, his handmade version has a firmer, denser texture that holds up to fermentation and deep-frying without falling apart. Wang takes pride in being the only vendor he knows of in Los Angeles who makes stinky tofu entirely from scratch. “All the other spots use frozen tofu to speed up the process,” he says. “Traditional stinky tofu requires fresh fermentation, which takes days or even weeks.” This version is soaked in brine made from fermented black soybeans, bamboo shoots, winter melon skin, Chinese herbs, rice wine, and even old brine from previous batches. This method gives the tofu its deep black color and complex aroma.

After fermenting in live-culture brine, the tofu is cut into cubes and fried twice for maximum crispiness. Wang serves his stinky tofu with spicy Hunan-style chile sauce, pickled vegetables, garlic sauce, cilantro, and green onions.

For now, Zhao sources the perfume lemons used at Lulala from a mix of imported Hong Kong fruits and his own harvest from orchards in San Bernadino. With Southern California’s warm climate offering an ideal ecosystem to grow perfume lemons, he hopes to be fully self-sufficient in the near future. With Lulala Lemon Tea, Zhao and Wang hope to introduce these iconic Chinese foods to a greater audience.

Lulala Lemon Tea is located at 923 East Las Tunas Drive in San Gabriel, CA 91776 and open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.