[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

There are countless renditions of Zenzai in this city, a Japanese dessert that, in its simplest form, is made of mochi and azuki bean (red bean) soup. Ushiwakamaru offers a particularly lovely version, incorporating fresh strawberries to lighten an otherwise filling and hearty dessert. Here (next to a trio of fresh mochi) the azuki beans are boiled, barely sweetened, and mounded over glossy cubes of jelly. Look carefully, there are two types: a plain, glossy jelly and another sweet matcha jelly. They bathe in a chilled, sweet soup; mix the azuki beans in after finishing the jelly for a refreshing bite.

Ushiwakamaru

136 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10012 (map)
212-228-4181

About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.