ほっこりまったり
Located about a 5-minute walk from the main gate on the north side of Daikakuji Temple along Daikakuji Street (formerly Omiya Street), this popular tofu shop often sells out by evening. On the storefront, you will find a lineup of various tofu products such as silk tofu, Kinugoshi tofu, Yoshino tofu, Oboro tofu, soy milk, Yuba, Atsuage, Agodashi tofu, Hiryusu, and Aburage. It is rumored that these products are also used in Kyoto cuisine restaurants, but they are also sold retail at the shop, where the artisan-like owner and gentle wife provide great service. Here are some of the items I have tried:
- Kinugoshi tofu: Smooth and silky
- Yoshino tofu: A blend of Yuba and kudzu starch, served with soy sauce or black honey. It is so mochi mochi that it sticks to the lid when opened, with a rich sweetness from the Yuba.
- Hiryusu (similar to ganmodoki): A crispy thin coating filled with lily bulbs, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, black sesame, and the rich flavor of Oage tofu.
- Agodashi tofu: A smooth cotton tofu that is almost mistaken for silk tofu, served with a separate Agodashi sauce (20 yen).
- Sesame tofu: Pure yet deep in flavor.
- Okara: A mixture of lotus root, konjac, carrots, water bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and greens, packed with the sweetness of soybeans.
- Hijiki: A mix of konjac, carrots, and boiled soybeans, with a generous amount of ingredients in a rich broth, perfect as a side dish for rice.
- Shiraae: A dish with plenty of ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cucumbers, carrots, konjac, enoki mushrooms, etc., with a well-balanced vinegar taste. Local residents say that it often sells out by evening, but it is relatively easy to get during the COVID-19 pandemic.