日本房屋板桥

The food looks great, the aroma whets the appetite, the flavour captivates: this ramen sets all five senses tingling. The word ‘Japanese’ in the shop’s name indicates that this is authentic Japan-made ramen; the name is written in Latin script to proclaim Japan’s comfort food to the world. Flavours of each region come together in a single bowl: salt ramen with shijimi and hamaguri clams; soy-sauce ramen with free-range chicken and kombu. Ceramic bowls handmade by a potter are used instead of porcelain. From ingredients to dining ware, the shop revisits the bounty and wonder of Japanese food cu

Sushi items lined up inside a glass display case ooze Showa-era ambience. A sushi shop of the old school, and that’s how the chef likes it. Cutting and serving the sushi himself, the chef offers everything from omakase set menus to à la carte. Tuna is marinated in soy sauce; conger eel is coated in a thick, sweet eel sauce; and egg is served ‘kurakake’ or ‘saddle-style’: layered into a cake and split over a bite-sized mound of vinegared rice. The character for ‘sushi’ combines the characters for ‘fish’ and ‘delicious’. The pursuit of essential Edo style expresses the chef’s pride in his craft

‘Jiyusan’ is a shop on Mejiro Street. The name is a play on the street’s old name, ‘Jusanken-dori’. Delicately thin seiro soba, made purely from buckwheat served on a wicker tray, offers a pleasing finish. Inaka soba is stone-ground by hand, one grain at a time using a pestle and mortar, and delivers a rich, deep flavour. Appetisers, patiently prepared using techniques the chef learned during his apprenticeship, set the tone—such as shrimp prepared in miso and grilled, or herring fillet simmered slowly over several days.

Negima-nabe, a tuna and spring onion stew, is a tradition handed down since the days of the shoguns. At a time when lean meat was treasured, this stew was contrived as a way of lightening the texture of toro, the fatty cut of tuna. Enchanted with Edo-era cooking, the proprietress of Negima revived it. True to original recipes, the dish uses neither kombu nor mirin. The meal ends with ‘pepper rice’, a dish of fresh-cooked rice seasoned with broth from the pot and pepper. Sample the pure cooking that true Edo-ites have always loved.

With close cooperation with food producers as his creed, the chef devotes himself to his 100% buckwheat juwari soba. He only uses ingredients native to Japan, to convey the charm of old-school soba. Depending where his ingredients come from, his soba may be served on a wickerwork tray, and may be either coarse-ground or ground with husks included. His inquiring mind drives him to check each day’s soba, adjusting thickness and serving temperature according to its nature. His diligent application is raising soba to new levels, as his many regulars would agree.

Unagi are dressed, skewered and grilled over high-grade charcoal. From the counter seats, the whole series of cooking scenes can be observed. The unagi are kept alive in purifying tanks until they are dressed, then dipped three times in sauce and grilled Edo-style. Sauce is used sparingly, letting the flavour of the fish speak for itself. Rice cooked somewhat firm, and freshly ground sansho pepper deliver a distinctive touch. Skilful restraint shows in the short steaming time and sparing use of sauce.

‘Novel yet nostalgic Western food’ is the theme here. Hamburger steaks with dollops of demi-glace sauce and gratin dressed in silky smooth béchamel sauce are prepared in time-honoured ways, bringing back the flavours of the good old days. Decompression-prepared salad offers rich flavours and uniquely fresh textures. Unchanging methods combine with advanced cooking techniques declare a new approach to Western favourites.