NY Times web

April 1, 2001
CHOICE TABLES
Sampling Seasonal Delicacies, at Reasonable Prices, in Osaka

LISTINGS & INFORMATION
・Osaka: Restaurants from this article
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Shiru Yoshi

If you yearn for a dining experience that will evoke scenes from Arthur
Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha," this is your place. Tucked away in a side
street, the traditionally constructed postwar building is a small maze of
tatami-mat rooms and corridors. Kimono-clad attendants greet you at the
entrance (in my case, one actually came and rescued me and my dinner guests
on a street corner after I phoned to say we were lost). Once settled in our
private room on the second floor, we began with gold- flecked sake served in
shallow red lacquer cups, and an assortment of hors d'oeuvres.

When making the reservation I had requested two kobachi kaiseki dinners
(literally, "feast of small dishes") and one tofu kaiseki; each menu is $100
a person. Throughout Japan, tofu is not synonymous with vegetarian cuisine.
At Shiru Yoshi, it means two of the many courses that feature silky bean
curd: in the winter, a hot pot of tofu and mushrooms with a soy- based dip
accompanied by grated ginger and daikon radish, and agedashi, a deep-fried
block of tofu with shredded scallions, moistened with a smoky sea-stock
sauce. Tender slices of grilled beef garnished with fresh tomato and a
succulent chunk of miso-marinated fish was served to those of us who ordered
the kobachi menu.

All of us were served excellent sashimi of yokowa (a type of young tuna)
garnished by edible flowers called kingyosou (literally "goldfish grass") in
Japanese. Curious as to what these might be called in English, we asked one
of the attendants, who scurried away to consult a dictionary. A few minutes
later, she returned to tell us: snapdragons.

Midway through our feast, the proprietor stopped by our room to welcome us
formally to her establishment and to chat. Unfortunately, we had a train to
catch and could not linger. The restaurant was mindful of this, and gently
prodded us to finish our meal, then helped us into our taxi.