Tofu Lover Heaven: Sorano

Do you love tofu? Its soft, silky texture, its versatility as it changes forms and absorbs different flavors? If so, Japan is for you. For tofu lovers, there are restaurants dedicated to the stuff. This is not the rough and ready way tofu is prepared for salads in the West. Along an unassuming street along the train tracks at Shibuya, white noran curtains reveal Sorano. A tofu restaurant dedicated to illustrating how incredible tofu can be. We got the most basic tasting menu which was priced at a very reasonable JPY3,500.

Our amuse-bouche was an entry into how tofu can take on other flavors. This was "tomato" tofu - cold square of silky tofu infused with the tangy flavor of tomato juice. Note the strategic insertion of a green maple leaf - tofu masquerading as a tomato!

This was followed by a little hammo (dagger tooth pike eel) on a bed of crunchy summer cucumber and a piquant sauce.

Excitedly, a cooking vessel was brought out next to our table. A tray of fresh tofu was being cooked in front of us! It would take 15 minutes, we were told.

While the fresh tofu was cooking, we were brought more dishes to sample. This was a tofu puff cake smeared with some savory sauce with some shavings of japanese negi (similar to scallion but not as strong).

We also enjoyed some deep-fried prawn meat wrapped in yuba and deep-fried. Yuba is the thin tofu sheet which we often use to make Chinese sweet soup "tong shiu".

By now, the tofu cooking at our table was ready. Opening the lid was a tofu lover's dream. The tofu was silky, hot and fresh. Some soy sauce as well as sea salt and lime was also offered. We ate the tofu on its own - so good!

Taking a break from the tofu, we were given a manageable piece of grilled white fish with daikon. The fish was marinated in soy sauce and mirin so was a little sweet.

The rice dish was in a light broth with soft yuba (tofu sheet) and pickles.

Finally, we finished with dessert! This was a tofu(?) cake rolled in some finely-chopped nuts. It was sweet and a little chewy - almost like a soft nougat. I'm not sure how successful this dish was but it was certainly a fitting end to the meal.

A great choice for tofu lovers. The two stand-out dishes was the tomato-infused tofu and the fresh tofu that was cooked at our table. More details including its location with a map can be found at: http://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/sorano