In my view, the Japanese are a people who focus much more on quality than marketing. They seem to live in the not always naïve hope that word will somehow get around. This is true of a lot of great restaurants in our megacity. I did not find out about Akasaka Gohan Yamaneya from some glossy magazine or through an online influencer. I just kinda, sorta stumbled into it.
Finding myself in the neighbourhood between business engagements, I needed to fuel up on some calories and saw a rather low key entrance way with a box-full of mini menus, some of them in English, with only six dishes, but some of these looked good.
Poking my nose round the door, it looked busy and had a good vibe -- lots of locals in on the secret. It was clearly filling up for lunchtime (the place only opens between 10 am and 3 pm) but there were still seats.
What made it more appealing was that I was the "only gaijin in the village" to adopt a phrase from Little Britain, so I proceeded to grapple with the self-ordering machine until a kindly oba-san staff member came over and helped me out.
I went for the "Rice Bowl with Large Oysters Fried in Rice Flour," which comes with miso and pickles for ￥1595. Not much more than you would spend on a burger set at some fast food dive served by the kind of migrant labour you can find anywhere nowadays, which is kind of a downer if you've come half-way around the world to experience a unique culture! Instead what you get here is a thoroughly Japanese restaurant and culinary experience.
They also serve Japanese-style simmered boneless mackerel (￥1485), salt-grilled boneless mackerel (￥1485), Japanese-style fried chicken with homemade sauce (￥1375), pork in a ginger and soy sauce (￥1485), and fried cutlassfish rice bowl with homemade glaze (￥1595), which would have been my second choice.
My oysters, which really were large, were perfectly cooked: juicy but with a crispiness. While the rice had bits of seaweed in and a fine, chewy texture. Plus there were some excellent small spicy peppers. In fact, everything, down to the sharp refreshing pickles and the intriguing ingredients in my miso soup, all suggested quality and dedicated effort on the part of the kitchen staff.
I wasn't bored either. As I was unfortunately dining on my own for a change, I took a seat at the counter rather than one of the tables, and was able to get a ringside seat of the restaurant's operations. They may only be open for 5 hours a day but they put a full 12-hour working day into it. It was fun seeing how they transferred a giant bundle of freshly cooked rice into the "ohitsu" (rice tub) and how they kept tabs on who had ordered what.
As the only Westerner on the premises, I felt a twinge of pressure to put on a good show, and accordingly managed to clean my rice bowl, not leaving a single grain! After enjoying a wonderful repast in this way, I said a sincere "Gochisosama deshita," adding an "oishikatta" and left.
But then I went and ruined it all.
Outside, there was an American couple looking tentatively at the entrance with its slightly intimidating self-ordering machine. If I hadn't opened my mouth they might well have passed on none the wiser. Instead, I foolishly said "It's very good. I recommend the fried oysters. Very juicy."
Next time I go there, will it have become the latest victim of over-tourism? I certainly hope not. But it would have been a crime to keep this place a total secret.
〒107-0052 Tokyo, Minato City, Akasaka, 7 Chome−8−1 赤坂三分坂マンション 1F
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment. All comments are moderated.