A good friend of mine visited from France from the end of August through the first few days of September. This restaurant, Azabu Shigezo, was visited on September 1, after we returned from Kyoto. We were really interested in this restaurant because tofu is their speciality. It was a truly great experience!!!! The food was exquisite. I highly recommend that everyone try this restaurant – even people who think they don’t like tofu! You haven’t really tried it until you’ve eaten here!
Most Japanese izakaya-style restaurants serve little starter dishes if you order drinks, and this was no exception. These dishes were remarkably fresh and good. Nasu with shoyu, topped with negi; renkon and gobō lightly mixed with sesame oil. Delish!
We started with their fresh yuba, served with a dollop of real wasabi. They make the yuba at the restaurant, and there are a limited quantity of orders each day. I am soooo glad that we were able to get one! This may not look so yummy, but the taste was… phenomenal! Very rich texture, and the taste is incredibly subtle. I ate a small piece just by itself, and was moved by it’s fresh taste.
They had three types of salt available, as well as a very nice soy sauce. We dipped the yuba in these – just a touch of salt is needed! The three salts are (from the left): salt with seaweed extract so it has a lot of minerals; coarsely ground sea salt; and finely ground sea salt. Each had a distinct flavor and they were all great.
Next we had the seasonal homemade tofu dish. Again, orders are limited. This was… indescribably scrumptious! So tender, and the green color and sauce is made from fresh seasonal beans. It was shockingly sweet – good shock! The taste of summer was clear in this dish.
Then we had fried yuba rolls with cheese and nori. I’m not 100% sure what type of cheese this is, but it was a really good combination. The cheese was very creamy and gooey – just like hot cheese should be! The fried yuba was very nicely crisp. The nori added some salty flavor to the mix, so it was really good.
Next was agedashidofu. I must admit that I am not the biggest fan of agedashidofu usually, but this was very good. Lots of flavor, and the breading was just right – not too thick or too thin!
We then ordered a salad. This is shredded daikon on a bed of red leaf lettuce with some kaiware daikon sprouts on top. The dressing was goma – very rich and lots of vitamins! This salad gets a top rating from me – the daikon was very crisp and fresh and the dressing was perfect for the cold, sharp flavor of the daikon.
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