Showing posts with label tempura. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tempura. Show all posts

Kanda Matsuya 神田まつや (Tokyo)

Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2014 by
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Address: 1-13 Kanda-Sudacho, Chiyoda
Website: www.kanda-matsuya.jp/p01.htm
Type of Meal: Lunch 
Soba are thin buckwheat noodles served cold or hot (heated with a warm dipping sauce or in broth). Like ramen, restaurants will generally specialize and offer only that type of noodles on their menu. One such restaurant is Kanda Matsuya, one of Tokyo’s most popular places to eat te-uchi (hand cut) soba noodles. Started in 1884, Kanda’s longevity may be accredited to their meticulous focus to quality – from cultivating their buckwheat in Hokkaido to perfecting the ratio of buckwheat to wheat flour - their noodles are an artisanal treat.  
Tourists and locals alike know about Kanda and line-ups often form even before the restaurant opens. When we arrived ten minutes before their 11:30 opening there were already 30 people in line. Luckily, the small restaurant uses communal seating so it can fit a surprisingly large number of customers at any given time (approximately 50-60) so we made it inside.


Wanting to enjoy the noodles in its purest form, I opted for the cold soba with a soy dipping sauce (¥650). They were deliciously springy with the sauce being just salty enough to flavour without overwhelming the nutty noodles. But, you need to order the noodles omori (extra large) as I was still hungry after devouring mine.  It may look like a lot of noodles, but they are actually sitting on top of a flat bamboo plate so it’s a relatively thin layer.
My husband’s tempura soba (¥2,000) was much more filling and he was satisfied after finishing the bowl. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try any as I was sick, but he noted it was good – nothing outstanding but decent and the hot broth satisfying on a cold winter’s day.



As a warning, it’s pretty hard to order at the restaurant as there is no English menu or speakers. I saved pictures and characters of what we wanted to order on my phone and showed it to our waitress. But this meant we couldn’t spontaneously order something - I saw a table order delicious looking grilled fish and other small eats that would have gone perfectly with my plain noodles. Alas, I had no idea how to order them off and the table was sitting pretty far away so it seemed impolite to point.
But, if you love noodles, it’s worth it to make the trip out to Kanda Matsuya (just arrive earlier to avoid waiting). Moreover, it’s walking distance from Akihabara, the bustling electronics neighbourhood in Tokyo. So, if you’re not in the mood to eat at a chain or maid café, Kanda Matsuya may be the perfect alternative.

 
Overall mark - 8 out of 10

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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!



Ten-ichi 天一 (Kyoto)

Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2014 by
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Address: Kyoto Station (11 floor in "Eat Paradise")
Website: www.tenichi.co.jp
Type of Meal: Lunch
We stumbled upon Ten-Ichi by chance, as by the time we arrived in Kyoto, I was famished and needed to refuel quickly.  Luckily, the JR Kyoto train station does not disappoint with the entire 11th floor dedicated to restaurants.  There are likely elevators somewhere, but after looking around for five minutes we couldn’t find it.  My suggestion is to go up to the pedestrian walkway on the 2nd floor and take all the endless escalators up to save some frustration.




Ten-Ichi is a tempura chain with locations across the country and their flagship store in Ginza. Although they do have tables, the best seat in the house is at the bar seats where you can see the chefs in action. Of course, you do end up smelling heavily of fried food; personally, I was thankful that they had little carts behind the chairs where you can stash jackets and bags to cover them from as much of the fumes as possible.

A good time to visit is during lunch as they offer specials, which is what we ordered (¥1,995), quite a good deal compared to their dinner combos that can be upwards of ¥5,000.

When the platter of dishes arrived, one contained a piece of cold squid with tofu skin and chives. Although it was very simply seasoned (a miso dressing?), the squid was tender and went well with the blanch chives. A great amuse I wasn’t expecting and helped tied me over until the tempura started arriving.

Unlike my experiences in Canada, Ten-ichi’s tempura is freshly battered and cooked, with the chef presenting one ingredient at a time so that each one can be enjoyed piping hot. The first to be done were two shrimp. They were not as heavily battered and “fluffy” as the North American versions, rather each shrimp was gently coated so that the crust was crispy but not overly oily. Surprisingly, the shrimp’s natural sweetness was still pretty pronounced and shone through the batter and soy sauce.

Next a shiitake stuffed with crab meat was served. The mushroom was fairly light tasting allowing the sweet flaked crab meat to permeate through. Personally, I found this went better with just a light dusting of salt. 

When I saw the eggplant I was a bit worried that it would be gross and oily – eggplant is notorious for soaking up whatever it’s cooked in. However, this certainly wasn’t the case and was in fact tender and delicious.

Following was another seafood offering, a delicate white fish fillet deboned and perfect for eating.  Juicy and just cooked through, the fish was fresh and such a good combination of flakiness and crunch. What I wouldn’t have given to have some house made tartare sauce with this!

When the chef first put down the next vegetable, I assumed it was a green bean. Upon biting into it I discovered it was actually a pepper. Interestingly, it had no heat nor was it sweet; just a pepper flavour with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The last item brings the meal full circle – more shrimp.  This time in fritter form with tons of tiny shrimp nestled into a crispy and doughy batter.  It’s great for breaking into little pieces, dunking into the light soy, scooping up the ground daikon and eating with rice. If you were worried about not being full before, this certainly will fill you up and ensure you’re satisfied!

I absolutely love how each table gets a bowl of ground daikon (a light tasting turnip) to add to the soy sauce.  The juiciness of it cuts through the oiliness and helps the soy sauce stick better onto the tempura. Once scooped onto the rice and mixed with some crunchy pickled vegetables it complements the plain rice quite well.

Like most Japanese restaurants, Ten-Ichi includes a bowl of hot miso soup with the meal. Ten-Ichi jazzes it up a bit by adding mini clams into the soup, not the easiest thing to eat but gives it some extra depth of flavour.

Why isn’t tempura served like this all over the world? Instead of the overly battered pieces of frozen shrimp with tasteless root vegetables, in Japan chefs use fresh seasonal ingredients with each piece offering unique flavours. Of course, it also helps that you’re served piece-by-piece so that each one arrives deliciously hot.  Most pieces aren’t that large, so once you finish you can’t help but anticipate when the chef will lift their large chopsticks and place the next offering in front of you.

Overall mark - 8 out of 10

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 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Sassafraz (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 100 Cumberland Street
Website: http://www.sassafraz.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner

 When so many restaurants are dimly lit and swathed in dark browns, it’s refreshing to walk into a bright, white-washed room.  The waterfall feature wall has been maintained nicely and still looks beautiful and impressive.  Perhaps, what is most appreciated, is the healthy distance between tables – something about not having to slide into your seat sideways and manoeuvering jackets and bags with strangers on shared bench space always starts the meal right.



My last visit to Sassafraz happened two years ago and I vaguely recall the experience.  So, when Groupon was offering a three course meal used for four people for only $105 it seemed too good to be true – an economical way to return to the restaurant.  But, since it was a deal, we prepared for disappointment; thankfully, the meal turned out terrific.


My appetizer of tempura isn’t on their regular menu.  A generous portion of crispy calamari, octopus tentacles and green bean tempura was topped with a sprinkling of chopped red chillies.  Unlike Japanese tempura the batter is heavier and accompanied with sweet chili thai and sriracha aioli dipping sauces. 

Although the dish’s presentation wasn’t impressive, it tasted good.  The batter and chopped chilis already had such great flavour that the dipping sauces weren’t necessarily required.   The calamari was cut into large pieces rather that in the typical small rings.  I like this as the seafood tastes meatier and retains its moisture; the octopus tentacles were equally well cooked.  The green beans, on the other hand, were too oily due to ratio of batter; zucchini strips or bundling the green bean before battering may be better.

The halibut, also not on their regular menu, was an equally large portion.  The fish had a nice pan seared crust and the lemon butter sauce complimented the mild halibut well.  But, what I enjoyed most were the accompanying poppy seed spaetzle and crisp Swiss chard.  Spaetzle, a German side dish of dough slivers, is not found often at restaurants.  The only time I’ve ever tried it was at O&B Café and their version pales in comparison to Sassafraz.  I enjoy the larger sized pieces which allow the dough to be softer and contrast the crisp pan fried exterior.   The Swiss chard was cooked perfectly so that it retained its vibrant red colour and crisp texture, I would have happily trade in the halibut for more of it!

My husband had their 10 oz. striplion with horseradish scented pommes puree with olive ($33).  The striplion, despite being a leaner cut of beef, was cooked well and tender.  I found the mashed potatoes to have a slightly sour taste that I found strange, but my husband enjoyed it.

For dessert I had the donuts ($12), which are three churros dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with chocolate ganache and dulche de leche dipping sauces.  Made to order, they were hot, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  There was just the right amount of cinnamon sugar and the bitterness of the dark chocolate sauce complimented the sweetness.  The dessert was a great ending to the meal.

Unfortunately, when offering deals, some restaurants treat customers with subpar service.  At Sassafraz this didn’t happen and they were as gracious as they’d normally be, attentive at filling up empty wine and water glasses.  The manager even came around at the beginning the welcome all patrons and solicit their feedback at the end of the meal.  Competing restaurants should take note of this trait – when you are offering a deal this is your occasion to promote your restaurant and obtain feedback from new customer groups, so use the opportunity wisely!

Overall mark - 8 out of 10

____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html



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