Today while out and about, I stopped in at my favorite soba restaurant for lunch. Honke Owariya was founded in 1465 – that makes it among the oldest restaurants in the world! I think I like their ‘Rikyu Soba’ dish best. Rikyu-fu was originally made for monks and priests who didn’t eat meat. (Present day Japanese Buddhist priests eat meat, in violation of the Buddhist vows.) Fu is wheat gluten and rikyu-fu is wheat gluten that has been simmered in soy sauce and then deep fried in sesame oil. Rikyu-fu has a rich and meaty taste. The two pink ‘plum blossoms’ in the bowl are nama-fu, or uncooked wheat gluten.