Fujiwara Tofu Shop located at an unusual spot, amidst production factories and car workshops, hosted us at their eclectic and one of a kind restaurant curated for the complete immersion into 90s Japanese culture. When Japan was in an agonising economic turmoil, the anime sub-genre of media thrived and gained worldwide recognition due to its captivating storytelling and psychedelic portrayal of colours. Let’s jump back into the present to meet three Malaysian bestfriends, Mr Chan, Mr Wong, and Mr Lim who shared common interests in manga, tofu, and cars. These three interests intersect seamlessly in the world of Initial D, which is a manga series quite literally about manga, tofu, and cars. For context, Initial D highlights Takumi Fujiwara, the main protagonist, who is a tofu delivery driver helping his father with their local tofu business. Fujiwara being grossly educated and skilled at driving and racing, has caught the attention of local street racing groups wanting to recruit him into their team. 

We see many relevant parallels portrayed in the manga series and showcased around Fujiwara Tofu Shop. The most surprising one by far would definitely be the real life car door originating from the series and a life-sized replica of the car Fujiwara drove in the manga series. Upon entry, we were also greeted by a miniature model of the real tofu shop in the manga where the exterior looked eerily similar to the current restaurant! We were pleasantly surprised by this. The interior of the restaurant was decorated with Initial D paraphernalia and merchandise. From ceiling high walls plastered with collages made from various stills originating from both the Initial D manga and anime, to real functional arcade machines consisting of street racing games. It was overall a completely different experience to dining at a normal restaurant. Something that you’ll notice when dining at Fujiwara Tofu Shop is the small window acting as a partition between the common dining area to the kitchen. This partition is theatrical, you’re not allowed to peek and you’re left waiting for a small glimpse of what could potentially define your entire dining experience. 

Let’s now delve into the culinary-portion of this Initial D immersive experience! We’re at a tofu themed restaurant, so for obvious reasons, we started with the black and seafood tofu served with garlic and chili thai sauce. There exists only a handful of dishes that are able to withstand the pressure of being on a plate in solitude. Nothing is as simple and as elemental as locally homemade tofu. Despite its simplicity, we were surprised as to how steamed and fried soy could hold such complex flavours. The black tofu has a charcoal base with a crispy black exterior and a delicately soft interior. The seafood tofu was far more multifaceted. The seafood taste coupled with the softness of the tofu proved to be the correct introduction to the implosion of flavour that awaits us. We moved on to their next appetiser, the chicken karaage. This Japanese staple serves as a benchmark to culinary standards. It would be amiss to get out of bed, make the commute into the city, and dine at a Japanese restaurant only for you to not order chicken karaage. The garlic and chili thai sauce made another appearance. The soft spice and the sweetness of the thai sauce complimented the crispy chicken extremely well. The chicken itself was tender and soft. The best part of this dish, besides its overall flavour, was the gigantic portion! This dish was split between four people and everyone had a substantial amount of chicken on their plate. 

For Fujiwara Tofu Shop, their mains stole the show! We started with the clam pasta made with spaghetti. As soon as the waiters brought this dish to our table the smell of garlic and butter lingered across the air. A tip for the homecooks, we were told that before the pasta was placed in the pan, a small portion of garlic was left to fry until it was charred to bring out the garlic smell which did an amazing job at masking any ‘fishy’ smell that is normally associated with seafood pasta. The pasta itself was cooked al-dente and the clams were beautifully marinated. 

Next up, we had the teriyaki saba don, served with full boiled eggs and topped with fish roe, seaweed, and spring onions. Personally, I have been in love with anything teriyaki ever since I started listening to Rosalia. This was my first time eating saba fish (or commonly known as blue mackerel) and I was delighted at the fact that the fish did not smell like fish! I was not met with an emphatic scream of F-I-S-H and any fishy element to it was undercut by the freshness of the saba fish. The teriyaki sauce was sweet and savoury, proving to be, once again, one of my personal favourite condiments. Critics don’t normally talk about garnish but I truly and genuinely believe that this dish would not be the dish that it is without being served with fish roe, spring onions, and seaweed on top of it. Sure, it’s a small portion but the contrast of colour between the red blob of fish roe with the otherwise bleak dish is, in my opinion, an imperative part of the presentation. The dish now echoes emotion, it has feelings that the consumer absorbs and it now emulates a sense of intentionality. 

The chicken katsu curry arrived next, with cubed potatoes and once again, garnished with fish roe, seaweed, and spring onions. We value the idea of originality but at times, conforming to tradition and convention should be prioritised when the idea at hand is proven to work. I’m glad that the chicken katsu curry was simply just chicken katsu curry! No thearics, no gimmicks, nothing ‘showy’ to shove into our faces. The chicken was marinated with flour, spices, and tossed in breadcrumbs to further enhance the crispness of the chicken skin. The curry was also well seasoned and had the perfect amount of salt that does not prompt you to down a whole glass of water. Overall, a great dish that does not need much yapping to prove to you that it truly was a great dish. 

Our dining experience was accompanied with soy milk and cincau to quench our thirst. Japanese cuisine, comparatively, is quite salty and has umami flavours bombarding your taste buds. The soy milk served as an excellent breather. Along with it was the tofufa that came in three different variations. There was the original, one doused with soy milk, and one more topped with cincau. If you’re not aware, tofufa is a sweet (or at times savoury) snack that consists mainly of silken tofu sitting on a bed of brown sugar syrup. The brown sugar offered a nice sweetness while the tofu effectively made sure that the sweetness was not too overpowering. My personal favourite between the three? Definitely the original. 

Last but not least (we secretly hope they expand their menu because everything we’ve tasted was impeccable), we had their dessert of the day which was the burnt basque cheesecake. We unanimously agreed that it was one of the best cheesecakes we’ve had in KL. Something as simple and popular as a cheesecake and we truly believe that we found an amazing option just a few minutes away from Monash. It was so incredibly delicious that we ordered a second slice just because there wasn’t enough to go around and every one of us wanted more than three bites. The cake had a charred burnt appearance that cracked as soon as you attended your fork to it. The cake itself starts melting as soon as it touches the tip of your tongue. If anything, go to Fujiwara Tofu Shop and get their cheesecake! 

We completed our course. Dined and dusted. We were heading out and were surprised with the lineup of cars that awaited us in front of the store. We were then told that come nighttime, Fujiwara Tofu Shop is effectively transformed into a rendezvous for car enthusiasts. About 20 cars, all Subaru BRZs and Toyota GR/GT86s strategically placed in front one another. It was a surprising exhibition of not just really cool and flashy cars but also the communal spirit that Malaysians have towards building communities and forming relationships outside your prescribed social spaces. Nonetheless, Fujiwara Tofu Shop served us with good food, good ambiance, and a glimpse into a community infatuated with cars (and tofu)! 

📍19, Jalan Industri USJ 1/16, Taman Perindustrian Usj 1, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Drinks: ⭐⭐⭐.5

Decorations/Interior: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Appearance on the outside vs inside: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Article by Yashven Jayabalan

Photos by Youshau