Specializing in tofu and yuba (tofu skin), Ume no Hana serves up healthy tofu dishes in Japanese kaiseki (multi-course meal) style. You can try the shumai dumplings made from pressed tofu and whitefish wrapped in yuba, but the main attraction here is the hikiage yuba course, where you can skim the thin sheets of yuba from a pot of heated soy milk. The flavor grows richer the longer the soy milk simmers. You can also choose the tofu course where you add nigari (curdling brine) to make tofu right before your eyes. Enjoy the hospitality of kaiseki, tofu style!
Menu (tax incl.): Course (12 dishes) ¥3,200 (appetizer, chawanmushi egg custard, sashimi, tofu shumai dumpling, tofu salad, namafu dengaku (miso glazed grilled wheat gluten cake), fried yuba, beef tendon stew, yuba soup, seasonal rice dish, pickles), course (15 dishes) ¥5,400 (Mineoka tofu, yuba stew, vegetable appetizer, chawanmushi egg custard, sashimi, crab shumai dumpling, palate cleanser, hikiage yuba, namafu dengaku, fried yuba, stone-grilled Kuroge Wagyu loin or Kyoto-style miso-grilled fish, yuba soup, seasonal rice dish, pickles, dessert)
*Foreign language menu: English / Credit cards accepted / Reservations possible / No smoking
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn250, Oct. 2019)