The Best Tofu

Chocolate Souffle Cupcake

I have a weakness for desserts. I don't think a meal is complete without one, and when Top Chef season five then-finalist and eventual winner Hosea planned a three course menu that concluded with venison, I thought it was ridiculous. He won the competition with that menu, but really, who orders food like that in a proper restaurant?

In New York, I would like to think that I've had a decent exposure to the dessert scene. I've found the best pecan pie at Balthazar, the richest ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, the most sinful whipped cream at Peter Luger, my favorite cupcake at Magnolia Bakery and recently the most delicious tofu I've ever had.

Black Sesame Sweet Tofu

I went to Kyotofu at the recommendation of a few friends who, like me, find desserts to be a guilty but necessary indulgence. Even though the mid-town dessert bar got its name from a Kyoto tofu manufacturer, I had no intention for tofu at all. I made the trip only because its chocolate souffle cupcake was touted by nymag as the best cupcake in the Big Apple. Being a cupcake fiend, how could I resist the temptation? Luckily for me, I brought a friend along.

HY ordered the tofu and cheesecake for lunch (yes, there are people out there who treat desserts as a proper meal) while I got the unagi and cupcake. Heck, when the food came it didn't matter who ordered what; it was a free for all. The barbecued unagi arrived first.

Barbecued Unagi

The sea eel was wrapped in phyllo dough together with a thin slice of sancho pepper. There was some kind of a sweet sauce that was drizzled onto the pastry which was light and flaky, exactly like that of a baklava which I adore. This dish was good but the portions definitely fell under the appetizer category even though it was a main course.

Sweet Potato Tofu Cheesecake

The three desserts came all at one time, spurring a particular gentleman next to our table to comment rather indiscreetly that we ordered a huge amount of sweets. The ladies with him were almost gawking at the dishes we had on our table while trying to figure out what was what. I don't blame them though; food deserves attention. The cheesecake was ok - I didn't really taste the tofu part, but it was palatable. The cupcake was light, not as airy as a souffle but much fluffier than the ones at Magnolia. Cake to cake, Kyotofu outdid my favorite cupcake joint, but cupcakes without icing are... muffins? As you might have guessed, this one didn't blow me away.

The one that left a mark was the tofu. Man, I never knew tofu could taste like that. Taste-wise, it was very close to the Chinese black sesame paste that I'm used to back home in Singapore, except this is lighter and less cloying. In the texture department, this one wins hands down because I'm not a big fan of drinking my dessert. Don't expect silky soft tofu though, because this dish isn't like that. It feels more dense, likely because of the ground black sesame, and as a result richer. The tofu came with roasted green tea syrup, but really I think it's just an accessory to make the dish look more sophisticated. I don't need all that fluff and prettying. This tofu is as good as it gets.