Metromix tasting at Gazen

Homemade Tofu Sampler

Gazen is best known for its fresh tofu, so we tried a sampler of the restaurant's three most popular varieties —the sukui, made by hand and chilled in its own soy broth; the Zaru, which is plain and served with black and white salt on the side; and the purplish kurogoma, mixed and infused with black sesame seeds and served with wasabi and a sake shoyu. Our favorite was the sukui, which is normal for local palates. In Japan, the Zaru is the best seller, while in Korea, the kurogoma is most popular with ko choo jung sauce.

Sukui tofu

Jan: "It's super soft, not rubbery at all. In fact, it melts in your mouth."

Ed: "It literally dissolves in your mouth. It’s light, refreshing, almost like a sorbet, with a clean finish."

Melissa: "I like the overall taste and texture. It doesn’t taste like store-bought tofu, and the broth is full-bodied."

Shayna: "It’s light, but it has a lot of flavor." (Note: Shayna eventually finished the rest of the bowl.)

Zaru tofu

Ed: "By itself, it’s kind of milky, but it does have its place in this sampler."

Melissa: "I actually liked the salt. Given the choice, I’d take the sukui over the zaru, but this is not bad."

Jan: "Kinda bland compared to the sukui. It’s too plain."

Shayna: "If we had this one first, we would have liked it better. The sukui kind of spoiled us for the others."

Kurogoma tofu

Shayna: "Mmm, it’s different. Better than the Zaru tofu for me."

Ed: "The shoyu drowns it out."

Jan: "If you ate it without the wasabi and shoyu, it would have no flavor."

Melissa: "I couldn’t really place any taste on this one."

Cost: $12.80
Group verdict: We probably should have eaten the different tofu in the opposite order, starting with the kurogoma, then the Zaru, and finishing with the sukui. If we order tofu again, we’d just stick with the sukui, which was a unanimous Yum!