Trying fresh tofu
Oyster Omelet is a dish that's very dear to my heart, since it's almost like a national dish of Taiwan. Although my taste buds do not actually know what a good version is supposed to be like since I haven't had one from the motherland in over two decades. That's one of the downsides to being an immigrant, you lose yourself in the new culture. This day in age, you could find shows and music from your motherland, but retail food is often something that's not in one's control. What's interesting is to see variations on food you grew up with in the adopted homeland. I'm not sure that I ever would have seen a fried oyster omelet in Taiwan, but here it is in New York City. En Japanese Brasserie has it on their brunch menu. What makes this different than most oyster omelets is that the oyster is breaded and deep fried, and then put inside of an omelet. This makes the oysters crunchy and even more enjoyable. What would give one pause is the price tag, which is $16 dollars. I suppose oysters are not cheap, but it's still a luxury good in my book. Proceed with care because while enjoyable, it's not rock your socks off kinda thing.
What's more interesting at En Japanese Brasserie is the freshly made tofu ($11). This is "served warm with wari joyu." They say the tofu is made freshly every hour, and while I can't vouch for that, I can say it was very fresh tasting, and more like custard than tofu. This is more worth it, because it's a share-able dish and it's definitely a novel experience. It's interesting enough that if you haven't try it, I'd highly recommend it. While not mind blowing, it's interesting enough to merit a visit. At the very least, one should remember to try fresh tofu if one ever encounters it on a menu.
There's some interesting search results on Google if you look up soy and prostate cancer. Like this link, where it says soy is a mixed bag when it comes to prostate cancer. But that's the thing about the internet, who knows whether a website is reputable and whether the study they quote is reputable. Interesting things to keep in mind though...
EN Japanese Brasserie
435 Hudson St.
New York, NY 10014
212-647-9196
(I invite you to follow me on Twitter so you can get more of my non-sense in another medium.)
I don't think the medical community has a definitive stance either. I guess the debate is around how phytoestrogens effect estrogen receptors.
I would still give the tofu a shot though :)
Rodzilla
December 24, 2011 8:54 am
I'll take bitch tits for the taste of delicious delicious soy milk and tofu.
Nicholas
December 24, 2011 5:17 pm
That is amazingly fresh. Sounds delicious too.
As for the bad effects of soy, I think everything is harmful in the extreme. Moderation, I think, is key.
Joyti
December 25, 2011 9:35 pm
@Rodzilla,
I'm not sure what you just said but yes, give tofu a chance :)
@Nicholas,
Yea but if that soy milk and tofu came from el goog, you'd complain that it's not delicious enough unless it was made by a guest chef :D
@Joyti,
Agreed, moderation is key. Do try fresh tofu if you get a chance!
Danny
January 4, 2012 4:20 pm
Thank you for the link to the report about soy intake and prostate cancer. I feel it is one of the more fair-mined study report in that it actually reports the sample size, confidence interval, etc. I think, as the authors suggested, that a study with a population that does not intake lots of soy, like in the US, may produce a more contrasting results. Interesting.
atlanta
January 15, 2012 10:35 am