Initial D is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and one of the more delightful collabs is with Chen Mapo, Japan’s number one restaurant for spicy tofu. After all, the entire touge racing series begins with Takumi delivering tofu to a mountaintop restaurant in his Toyota AE86. The tie-in features three tofu entrees, each color-coded to match the three main cars of the series, as well as collectibles and merch.
For a limited time, diners will be able to order one of three car-themed dishes:
- Takumi 86 Black: Inspired by Fujiwara’s black and white AE86, this tofu is flavored with squid ink.
- Keisuke FD Yellow: Inspired by the younger Takahashi brother’s yellow Mazda RX-7, this tofu is topped with yellow cheese, and described as having “the creaminess of a rotary engine.”
- RedSuns Red: Inspired by the racing team formed by the Ryosuke Takahashi, it contains copious amounts of chili.
Each dish costs ¥1,680 including tax ($10.30 USD) and comes with one of 10 trading cards. These cards are illustrated with characters from the series and their cars, and are distributed at random.
Each order also comes with a “Project M.D.” sticker, which stands for mapo dofu, if you’re going by the original Chinese pronunciation of the dish. Patrons will also be able to purchase shirts, keychains, and a mapo tofu mix they can make at home. The coolest item is an actual dinner plate featuring the cars of Initial D, but it’s not for sale. Instead, 86 lucky winners will be chosen by lottery to receive one.
The collaboration begins August 1 and runs until October 31. It’s available at Chen Mapo locations in Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Osaka.
