空ノ庭.tofu.ryori

an oasis in the city.  you will never find this place 空ノ庭 by yourself but you have friend who knows this place by heart, a true secret place.

in an converted concrete building along the rail track but you just love how the place is being touched up. simple and matching to the tofu ryori that it offers.

a pretty little bowl of sesame tofu 豆乳胡麻豆腐, topped with a edible flower. the complexity of the taste is really beyond comprehension.  a small bite of the sesame tofu put all of you into silent mode. 

no one is talking. 

no one is eating.

but all three of you are tasting the food.

yes! tasting is the right word. you can eat without tasting the food.

here, you take all the time you have to taste your food.... 

 yuba sashimi - simply delicious, smooth and silky

 avocado tofu, it just taste too rich and creamy not to be avocado but tofu.  tasting it plain with just the sauce and eating tasting it with a little bit of wasabi (mustard) is a complete different palate experience.

 green salad with pork and tofu, slightly of the ordinary side but green is essential to a vitality lifestyle.

 mochi like skewer 生麩の田楽, they are really goo-ey and the taste is subtle but the combination of spring onion miso brings out the best of the mochi

tamagoyaki made of egg and tofu, although this is a common dish but still you like how soy bean is used and how the texture is changed because of soy bean.

 a burger meat mixed with tofu and an onsen tamago (hotspring egg) 豆腐つくね　温泉玉子添え. great complement to the soy based cuisine. the meat has a lot of spring onion and ginger. that make the meat very fresh and the onsen tamago coat the meat with a layer of smoothness.

 a stove with the goodies inside 豆乳が入ったお鍋 and patient is all it asks for.  25 minute of waiting.  worth every seconds wait.  you have a taste of heaven.

and you have a taste of silky heaven. so pure. pure like a first born.  taste of innocent.  the tofu is so soft and silky. you finish the entire bowl without any seasoning, no shoyu (soy sauce), no salt (shio) either.  nothing! pure and plain is simply the best.

you simply love tofu ryori. an extraordinary culinary experience not just satisfying the stomach but also purify and calming your senses.  simple is best and this is simply the best!!!

well done 空ノ庭.