◉Genre: Tofu cuisine ◉Area: Inside Izutsuya, Kokura Kita Ward, Kitakyushu City ◉Access: About a 6-minute walk from JR Kokura Station ◉Parking: Available ◉Credit card payment: Accepted ◉Number of visits: First time ◉Number of reviews: 1st review On this day, I casually visited "Ume no Hana Kokura Izutsuya Store." ◇Exterior and Interior This tofu cuisine restaurant is located in the basement of the long-established department store Izutsuya in Kokura Kita Ward, Kitakyushu City. It is a chain that spans from Hokkaido in the north to Kagoshima in the south. ◇No seating available. ◇Menu Structure In addition to tofu dishes, there is a wide variety of other dishes available. The items I ordered are as follows: - Mineoka Tofu (380 yen) → Price excluding tax It might seem eccentric to come to a tofu restaurant and choose Mineoka tofu, but I was in that kind of mood. (laughs) Even though I say I cook for myself, I tend to avoid milk, which I'm not good at. The key point is the yuzu miso. While tofu dishes may have various preferences such as soy sauce or salt, yuzu miso was the right choice for this Mineoka tofu. The compatibility with the milky flavor was really good. ◆Strong Points A tofu cuisine specialty store with a small number of dishes! ◆Service Average. ◆Summary I still feel that the dishes at the restaurant are consistently delicious. (laughs) Thank you for the meal.

Umezakaya, located in the basement of the well, mainly serves tofu dishes. This time, I purchased Mineoka tofu♪(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Mineoka tofu is made by solidifying milk with kudzu. It's like sesame tofu but with milk. It's not sweet, and has a unique mochi-like texture from the kudzu. It's delicious. It can be enjoyed as a dessert with black honey drizzled on top, or as a side dish with broth poured over it. It came with wood bud miso, but I didn't really like it. I think black honey would go best with it.

Seafood spring roll for 152 yen. This seafood spring roll doesn't really taste like seafood. I cut it in half and took a bite, but couldn't even tell what the filling was. Maybe squid? I could slightly taste a shrimp flavor. Well, it's seafood after all. You wouldn't know if you didn't know.

If you're feeling indecisive, go for the assorted plum set! Whenever I visit the basement floor of Ogura Itoya department store, I always end up buying the plum set. Inside, you'll find my favorite three side dishes. First, there's yuba tempura - a silky tofu wrapped in yuba and deep-fried. Then, there's nama-fu dango - a chewy delight that's addictively good. And finally, there's tofu shumai - light yet slightly rich in flavor, it's delicious! Another highlight is the creamy tofu fu manju with a perfect match of red bean paste inside. Although the shop may seem a bit upscale, you can truly enjoy the taste of plum blossoms here!

I was looking for something different and decided to try buying some dishes to take home from the store. I purchased Edamame Ginger Rice and Nagato Chicken Hot Water Yuba Karaage with sweet and spicy sauce. I ate it at the top of a mountain, so it was cold, but it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

Today, instead of roller skating in the department store basement, I tried the tofu dumpling bento from the well-known tofu restaurant "Umenohana" at their deli shop "Umenohana Deli". I chose the chirimen sansho rice. The price was not too high, and since it's tofu-related, it's safe to say it's good for your body. The bento included tofu dumplings, chirimen sansho rice, yuba tempura, and simmered vegetables. The appearance resembles ikashumai, but the taste is firm on the outside and fluffy inside, which is good. They also sell tofu dumplings separately. This deli shop is located in Kitakyushu, and there are dine-in options at their locations near JR Jono Station and Aobadai in Wakamatsu (both locations are listed on Tabelog). It's not just in Kitakyushu, as they are a nationwide chain. I haven't dined in at the store yet, but I definitely plan to visit. Thank you for the meal.