Until Today, I Was a Yuba Virgin

…. but a lunch in Kyoto changed this forever.

There are very few restaurants in Japan that serve a meal in which every course is made from tofu, or its major ingredient, soy bean.

At Junsei Tofu Restaurant, in Kyoto, we enjoyed an elaborate, multi-course meal, of which five courses were soy-, or tofu-based.

We started with yuba, which I’d never had before. In fact, never even heard of before.

Yuba, also called beancurd skin, is prepared at your table and it’s the dining guest who has to do all the work to produce it.

So don’t forget to tip yourself heavily for the excellent cooking job.

Each guest grabs a swizzle stick, the kind that holds large, juicy, hamburgers together in a US steak house; you wait for soy milk that is being heated in a shallow bowl atop a table burner, to form a thin skin, about as thick as onion skin. The skin forms as milk proteins coagulate from the heat.

A server shows us how to skim off the top of the heated soy milk….

You gently drag the swizzle stick across the surface of the heated milk, and by this action, pull a thin veneer of coagulated soy bean off the heated milk.

At the table, you take your single sheet of globular yuba and dip it into a sweetish sauce.

You slurp. You chew. You swallow. You wash it down with frothy, chilled beer. Rinse and repeat.

In real life, if you layer enough of these thin, heated skins together, one atop the other, and add a necessary coagulant, you wind up with a block of tofu.

From Yuba to Tofu in a few minutes flat — sounds like a Japanese train schedule linking two rural towns.

The next course consists of blocks of freshly made tofu, boiled in a water bath on your table.

Then you are offered a glass of fresh soy milk. Absolutely fresh and delightful, tasting nothing like bland commercial soy milk you purchase from the supermarket.

Then we were offered two savory mochi .. which were texturally exciting and uniquely flavored with brushes of umami magic….

Then they presented a delicious selection of lightly battered vegetables — a tempura palate cleanser, if you permit.

Then we were back on the soy track; next stop Tofu Steak, which are actually fresh, layered, almost chewy widgets of compressed tofu, made to be dipped in a different sauce…..

Then they brought a sensational white rice melange, mixed with sea bream and bamboo for flavor and texture;. I found that adding some of the vegetables from the tofu steak course to the rice dish was the right move. Sensational!

For dessert we were presented soy milk pudding; it was like a pastel version of butterscotch pudding. It offered a velveteen texture and an almost subliminal hint of fresh cream….

And the cost of this elaborate lunch with beer was $42 a person. No tax, and no tipping required.

After your lunch, I suggest you stroll around the gorgeous gardens which surround the main dining room. They are tranquil, memorable, even on a dull spring day when there were many clouds and no direct sunlight….

I urge anyone visiting Kyoto to check out this unique lunch and make a reservation well in advance.

Jinsei Tofu Restaurant, 60 Kusakawacho, Nanzenji, Sakyoku, Kyoto.

Tel: +81 075-761-2311

Or email: nfront@to-fu.cojp

But Wait, There’s More!

A two-minute walk from Jensei Tofu Restaurant is one of the oldest Zen-Buddhist temples in Kyoto and definitely worth the waddle when you push back from your elaborate induction into Yuba culture.

The temple, called Nanzenji, is open to the public for free.

It was originally built in 1291 on the site of Emperor Kameyama’s palace grounds.

It is peaceful, bucolic, and swarming with busloads of tourists, school kids and locals. But the site is gaw-jus.

There are numerous shrine temples on the property, as you can see from this selection of photos from this aft….

Also got a chance to capture daily life in Kyoto, which reminds me in some ways of Lyon, France, which is the junior city to Paris, but oh-so much more manageable, easier in which to have fun, fewer crowds. Same thing for Kyoto when compared to Osaka or, Tokyo. It’s smaller, sweeter, and easier to manage.

These shots don’t necessarily capture that part of the experience, but I was amused by these things I saw and captured them on digital film….

Then I had to get into the act… and show friends how strong I’ve become since starting my New Year’s fitness regime… look what I can press now….

And finally, a coin locker in a downtown shopping area… what great style!

More tomorrow.. assuming it doesn’t rain us out of a walkabout…

Jim