August 5, 2016 (Tokyo, Japan)

As I start this post, I will make the disclaimer that I am not a “foodie” in the traditional sense of the term.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of a foodie is as follows:

(noun, Slang) A person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking.

And even though I do love to eat and be cooked for, I’ve read some food reviews written by foodies, and let me tell you, it can be an art form. What follows is my personal review and not a judgement of the food based on specific professional criteria.

With that said, let’s begin.

Grant and I had the pleasure of trying a restaurant called Ume No Hana. They have several restaurants throughout Japan, with a number of them in Tokyo. We went to the one in Shinkoiwa. And just because they have restaurants all over Japan, this place is not a fast food joint. It’s a formal traditional-style Japanese restaurant.

When we arrived, we took off our shoes, and entered a tatami-lined hallway leading to many private tatami rooms. My uncle had made a reservation beforehand (which is advisable if you want to eat here) so we were directed to a spacious 12-person room. This was really huge for our group as we were a party of 5 people, but I didn’t mind the extra space.

Everyone arrived at different times so Grant and I ordered sake and had time to settle in. We started with a cold sake (as opposed to hot) and it came in a really nice, natural-cut bamboo carafe. I thought, ‘what a good idea to make a sake carafe out of bamboo… if only I had access to a bamboo forest’. Even the sake cup was cut from a section of bamboo.

 

My uncle had ordered a full course meal for us and the presentation was impeccable as kimono-clad servers bowed upon entering and exiting the room, and everything was served with esthetics in mind.

The first dish was some cold tofu with a dab of miso sauce on top and some ohitashi (a Japanese-style spinach salad):

 

 

Next came chawamushi, an egg custard dish, but this one was unique because it was made from tofu:

 

The third dish was presented in a little, clay steamer pot often served with dim sum. When the lid was lifted, I discovered two shumai dumplings inside and some light, refreshing citrus dipping sauce.

The inside was crab but the outer part had a unique taste, so I turned to my cousin sitting next to me and she explained that what would usually be made out of flour and water, was made out of tofu (or soybean flour to be exact).

I nodded and enjoyed the dumpling.

 

Next came a dish called yuba. This was Grant and my first experience eating this and it was quite unique. It’s soybean milk served in a shallow metal pot with a flame beneath it. As the liquid heats up, a thin film develops on the top and you are to skillfully use chopsticks to detach the outer edge of the film from the pot and them pick up the film from the center. If you do it right, the entire film should come off the surface. You then dip this thin film in soy sauce and eat it. The taste is very interesting. I again turned to my Japanese cousin and asked her what it is, she said it was thin tofu.

 

 

Now if you are noticing a pattern here, you are quicker than I am. Because at this point, I felt like something was up but it didn’t dawn on me until the next dish.

Which was… fried tofu in a savory fish broth:

 

 

“Wait a minute! All we’ve had so far is tofu!”. I said this out loud.

Everyone looked at me aghast. I think they were thinking, ‘Wow, she just figured this out?’ . But what my cousin actually said was, “Well this is what this restaurant is known for. It specializes in Japanese tofu cuisine”.

Grant leaned in and whispered, “I figured it out after the 2nd dish”.

The next course was some fried vegetables, edamame, and mochi on sticks made with tofu.

 

 

I got excited with the following dish, as I enjoy meat, but a little puzzled with what to do with it.

Out came two pieces of steak with a hot stone and a paper lantern-like shade surrounding the stone. My relatives explained that the stone was very hot, you grill the steak pieces on it and the paper is to help keep oil from splattering. Then you dip it in the sauce.

I guess the chefs thought they couldn’t only serve tofu and decided a little more protein would be better than just bean curd?

 

 

 

The final dinner dish included some soup with Yuba cut in to strips (professionally made in the kitchen and not the crude Yuba film made at our table), with sticky rice, and pickled vegetables.

 

 

Then the server came in and asked us which dessert we wanted. The choice was ice cream or azuki, a  traditional dessert made with sweet azuki beans. I opted for the ice cream.

 

The ice cream was very refreshing and came with a brown sugar syrup (kind of like molasses but milder). My cousin leaned in and asked if I was enjoying my dessert. I answered, “yes it’s really good!” and she responded, “Good, it’s has no dairy in it, it’s made from tofu”.

I seriously couldn’t tell.

Conclusion: Ume no Hana is a really good restaurant. Presentation is great and I think tofu lovers will especially enjoy it. Tofu is served like you wouldn’t even think it could be served. I couldn’t tell the difference for a while. Although this is a pricey restaurant, it is definitely worth it as a fine dining experience.

 

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