Junsei Okabeya: Early Bird Gets the Tofu

I'm in the mood for some food so today's post will be just that! My family and I had an early morning start in Kyoto at Kiyomizu-dera to beat the crowds. By 10:30, we had visited the temple as well as Sannen-zaka, one of the traditional roads leading up to this popular tourist site that is lined with various restaurants, stores and omiyage shops. Coincidentally, Junsei Okabeya (the Kiyomizu branch) opened at 10:30 as well! This was one of the places that I really wanted to take my family to because of the food and they were only too willing to have an early lunch! The first time that I came here was with my 3nensei teachers where we had a spectacular yuba dofu course. While my family and I didn't try the yuba dofu course (it can be a little pricey), we still indulged ourselves on some high-quality tofu! 

I had the oborodofu and obanzai set which came with various dishes, including some tempura, yudofu, and a beautiful plate filled with small dishes. Matcha salt was available to sprinkle on top of the tempura and while I have already stated in my first post (linked above), the tempura here is honestly one of the best that I've ever had. Light and crispy with a sprinkle of salt; that sprinkle of salt is what really makes it go above and beyond, in my opinion.

My dad and brother both decided to try the tofu donburi which came with tempura as well. They told me that the soup was very thick, almost like a jelly consistency, and was extremely tasty. They were the first ones to finish! My brother nicknamed this place as "Tofu Heaven" because the tofu was the best that he's ever had :) 

My mom ordered the namafu no tempura dengaku. Dengaku is a type of miso cuisine where various types of skewered foods are grilled and then coated with a thin layer of miso before being grilled again. With this dish, the various foods were deep-fried like tempura instead of being coated with the miso layer. I think my mom rather enjoyed sampling the tempura with the various sauces and salts :)

If you're in the area, I highly recommend this place for lunch :) They also have a seasonal menu which is always worth checking out. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!