Mamehachi Hanare 京都豆八 離れ (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Kyoto's tofu is widely regarded as the best in Japan and not surprisingly, there are a number of tofu specialty restaurants in the city serving great multi-course tofu Kaiseki cuisine. But since we didn't have enough time to work with, we decided to just get a glimpse of tofu cuisine in a quick and easy manner.

Many of the famous tofu specialty restaurants offer beautiful garden settings but that also means they will be a little out of the way (especially when you have small kids like us). One place to look for a quick tofu dinner within the heart of the city is Pontocho (先斗町), Kyoto's ancient food alley. As Kyoto's central dining and nightlife district for the past 500 years, Pontocho which stretches over a few blocks from north to south, is best known for its bars, restaurants and tea salons.



There are two branches of Mamehachi on Pontocho alone with Mamehachi Hanare (京都豆八 離れ) being the more casual of the two (Good that we're looking for casual!).



They are open on Sundays and till late (10:30pm).



Well, the writings are on the wall with detailed step-by-step instructions on how to enjoy a soy milk hotpot; even a few points on the nutritional values of soy milk.



We ordered their soy milk hotpot set which came with a small appetizer platter. This had a little bit of everything ranging from mixed peppers, poached pumpkin, braised burdock, lotus root to their signature homemade mineoka-tofu which is some sort of milk pudding.



We also had a couple of dishes from their a la carte menu, including this Japanese oden cooked in soy milk. After taking a soy milk bath, I thought the daikon, tofu and fish cake seemed a little more silky than usual.



And some more homemade mineoka-tofu which were the same ones that came with the appetizer platter. These were more like milk pudding than tofu with white and black bean flavors.



Tonight's main event is of course the soy milk hotpot.



Following their instructions carefully, we let the soy milk boil first before putting all the ingredients in.



This could easily serve up to two people (and a child).



Some mochi, red bean paste, matcha sponge and black beans for dessert.



Kutan (奧丹), Tousuiro (豆水楼) and Okabeya (順正) are much better known figures in tofu cuisine comparing to Mamehachi but in case you don't have time to burn like us, Mamehachi isn't a bad choice considering its convenient location.





Food Rating: 4.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 208-4 Shimokorikicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-8016 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Gion-Shijo
Tel: +81 (0)7 5211-8606
Website: www.kyoto-pontocho.jp   



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