Izakaya: Our last meal in Japan
Japan is a country dedicated to the idea that food should be available absolutely everywhere and in seemingly endless varieties and quantities. From the mountains of fish at Tsukiji to 50 different kinds of pickled vegetables in Kyoto’s Nishiki Market.
We never had a bad meal in Japan – most everything is delicious and surprising affordable. However, we didn’t have many meals that were enlightening either. The kind of meal that elevates your idea on what food can be because it’s unique or inventive. A big reason I suspect is we’re careful with our budget and that kind of food is going to cost a bit more (or if you’re Michelin inclined much more). Around day two we started planning the more expensive return trip to Japan to dine at the many higher end restaurants it offers because we know it has so many.
That said, we still did get one fantastic meal – the kind you’ll always remember and one which we stumbled into accidentally – which for me makes it all the more memorable and fun. After settling into our guesthouse in Osaka, Babel found us an Izakaya with good ratings and an English menu (many places are all in Japanese or have pictures you can point to). Izakaya are Japanese inns, and typically serve small dishes to share like one would with Spanish tapas, and they sometimes specialize in a particular type of dish. We walked over to the place only to find it closed, and the rest of the street quiet and dark with one exception. The lone alternative was also an Izakaya a few doors down – which looked nice but whose menu was entirely in Japanese. But we figured why not try it anyway – we can always point at things randomly or try and use google translate and we’ll see where we get.
At first glance the place looked more bar than restaurant with a cozy but modern interior. We sat ourselves at an open table and the sole guy running everything came over to give us menus. Google translate quickly failed us with the handwritten menu and we struggled mightily to figure out what was available. The guy running the place only spoke a handful of words of English but was able to say chicken was their specialty. Eventually had the foresight to ask him to choose for us. This was one of the best decisions we made in Japan.
Our guy started right out of the gate with the unusual – torisashi or chicken served like sashimi (as in raw). I had heard about this Japanese delicacy before but never had the occasion to try it, and if I am being honest I was unsure if I would order it by choice. So much of my American upbringing screams “never eat pink chicken let alone raw chicken!” Part of me likes to believe our host was testing us a little by offering us something unusual to see where he might go with the next dishes. The verdict? Sublime. It was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tried. The chicken was soft and tender and very much like raw fish. It is kind of like salmon in tenderness without as much of a fatty quality. The combination of flavors from the seasonings and shredded vegetables melded perfectly. We both devoured it and wished for more. Our host came by and using his phone asked us if we liked the dish and we nodded vigorously in response. He looked pleased and ran off to the kitchen.
The next dishes came in rapid succession: garlic edamame, yakitori (grilled skewers of pork, beef, and chicken), and a vegetable soup. What stood out among all the choices was not only how well balanced their flavors were individually but how well they went together as a group.
With our first glass of also delicious sake behind us and a second coming our host asked us if we should “continue”. Of course!
Next up: tempura sardines, tomago (Japanese layered eggs and slightly vinegared and sweetened), and donabe, which is a type of earthenware bowl in which rice and in our case various types of mushrooms and vegetables are cooked together. All again were delicious, though the donabe put us over the top leaving us completely stuffed. We sadly said we couldn’t keep going, thanked our host profusely and made our way home. A perfect way to end Japan.
