Silken tofu gelato is the new viral sensation in the Brisbane CBD

It’s 1pm on Wednesday in a far-flung corner of the CBD and Sofu Gelato has a queue halfway up the block. The aim here seems clear: get in, get your gelato, get your socials, then get out, so the next people can get in.

The scene speaks to the appeal of wife-and-husband team Sharon Sia and Albert Maung’s business idea – gelato made from silken tofu – but also what not so long ago might’ve been thought an unlikely location.

A little more than 12 months ago, this end of Edward Street was relatively quiet. Now it’s home to Golden Avenue, The French Exit, Le Royale and San Telmo – and that’s on top of Naldham House, Walter’s Steakhouse, Stilts and Mulga Bills, all of which are a little more than a block away.

“We initially wanted to do it on Elizabeth Street,” Sia says. “But it’s super busy there, no empty spaces around and rent is through the roof.

“We asked our agent to show us other parts of the city and we stumbled onto this space next door to Golden Avenue. It’s also really close to the Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge.

“We were sceptical because there just didn’t seem to be that much foot traffic around, but our agent told us about the coming Anyday venues [The French Exit, Le Royale]. When we opened, San Telmo had just opened across the road.

So amazing Sia and Maung have had to close the shop entirely on a couple of occasions to restock on cups and stock.

But this isn’t just about the location. Sia and Maung have a unique product on their hands. Sofu Gelato bills itself as Australia’s first silken tofu gelato shop. Tofu gelato is lighter on the palate than conventional dairy-based gelatos, while also being higher in protein. And the way Sofu makes it, at least, it’s not as sweet.

“Tofu [has] … always been made savoury,” Sia says. “We saw it [in Korea, where tofu gelato originated] being reimagined as gelato and we really loved it. The product itself is not too sweet, not as heavy as traditional gelato – it’s lighter and silky.”

The shop itself isn’t much more than a hole-in-the-wall slotted into the ground floor of the heritage-listed Spencer Building. But it’s an eye-catching spot, with a timber and glass frontage and window that opens to the sidewalk outside, and a heavy timber counter inside.

Behind the counter is where the magic happens, but instead of traditional pozzetti there’s a Miles Gelato Machine, imported from China, which is a batch freezer, gelato maker and display cabinet all in one. Each gelato – there are 12 pots on the counter – is regularly automatically churned to preserve its silky texture.

“Logistically, sourcing the machine took a while,” Sia says. “It’s hard to get your hands on it, but once you do it’s basically a three-in-one machine, so it’s pretty convenient.”

For launch, Sofu Gelato is serving seven core flavours that Sia and Maung took six months to fine tune: original tofu, sweet corn, matcha, oolong milk tea, purple sweet potato, black sesame and pandan coconut.

“They’re Asian-inspired flavours, flavours my husband and I grew up with,” Sia says. “It’s nostalgic.”