For stellar vegan food in Shibuya, visit Izakaya Masaka. Can Tokyo do proper vegan food? We went vegan and below is what we experienced at Masaka!
Vegan Food in Shibuya - Where to find Makasa
The restaurant is located in the vibrant area around Shibuya station. They're in the Shibuya Parco shopping center, specifically on the basement floor of the CHAOS KITCHEN.
Masaka specializes in vegan Japanese set meals. At lunch, all meals come with rice, soup, and pickled vegetables.
The Meals
Set Meal 1 - Vegan Fried Chicken and Dumplings
We visited the restaurant during lunchtime and ordered several lunch meal sets, each coming with 3 karaage (Japanese style fried chicken) and 3 gyoza (dumplings). The gyoza were filled with minced veggies and soy meat. The karaage was made from soy meat. Both were incredibly flavorful, to the point where you hardly realize you're not eating meat!
We particularly enjoyed the crunchy coating and the juicy filling of the karaage. Texture is something hard to get right with vegan karaage. Another plus is that you can choose various sauces for the karaage, including spring onions and lemon, spicy Sichuan, or teriyaki soy mayonnaise (all pictured).
Set Meal 2 - Spicy Mapo Tofu
We also ordered the Mapo Tofu set. Mapo tofu is a popular Chinese dish consisting of tofu cubes cooked in a zesty, thick sauce with fermented black beans, chili paste, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and other seasonings. They definitely toned down the spice compared to what you get in China. But they have chili powder on the table so diners can adjust the spiciness to their preference.
Let's get down to business: Did we like it?
So as not to keep you waiting any longer! As you've probably guessed, we were a big fan of this little outpost serving vegan food in Shibuya! The food was fresh and with wonderful textures. My favorite was the karaage which was amazingly close to the original thing!
Tips
We visited right when they opened at lunch and we were surprised that it was not crowded! However, after eating our food, we talked to the staff and they told us that it was unusually quiet that day. So make sure to visit outside of peak hours. The best time to visit Masaka is after 3 pm.
In the evening, they take more the form of an izakaya, or Japanese gastropub. It might be fun to check them out in the evening!
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