Wednesday 14 January 2009

Mame no Hatake

That evening we made a visit to Kobe to visit a Japanese friend. She took us to a very nice tofu restaurant inside a small shopping centre, Shin Kobe Oriental Avenue (新神戸オリエンタルアベニュー), and a short subway ride away from Kobe's main station, called Mame no Hatake (豆乃畑). Mame is beans/peas, as in soy beans.

It was another viking buffet, and while it wasn't entirely vegetarian there was a very good range of vegetarian choices. The restaurant was presented as serving 'tofu cuisine and healthy/natural eating', with 20 types of tofu (including handmade ones), plus a variety of vegetables, noodles, and assorted hot and cold food items on offer. We tried some of the vegetable tempura, noodles, salad and several different types of tofu (check out the purple and green tinged ones below!).

Selection of foods on offer at Mame no Hatake

There were also pickles and konnyaku, which our friend was surprised that we liked so much as she thought it would be too weird for non-Japanese. Tea and miso soup were also included in the price, and there were even a couple of different teas to choose from! A waiter also came around to offer some special tofu (the small dish in the photo below) to all the customers, but I can't remember what was so special about it! It was quite tasty though. There were also a decent selection of fish (including sushi) and meat items being served as well, so it would be a good place to go with non-veg friends that want their meat intake.

Main dish and some side things at Mame no Hatake

Of course there was a selection of desserts too, happily including our favourite, green tea ice cream:

Matcha ice cream at Mame no Hatake

The price for this healthy buffet is ¥1580 per person for 90 minutes, very good value even if you don't eat any of the fish sushi! Most of the vegetarian options were cold, so it might not be that fulfilling if you are in the mood for a big hearty meal. However, if you want something on the lighter side that taste healthy and refreshing, Mame no Hatake is definitely worth a visit.


豆乃畑
兵庫県神戸市中央区北野町1-1 新神戸オリエンタルアベニュー2F 
TEL: 078-252-7778

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