和料理🇯🇵Ooishii Tabemono🎌

Top notch quality sushi at such great value.
Chef Endo-san from Yamagata is well spoken in English and always keen to introduce ingredients and sake from his home prefecture.

Cold crab and jellyfish starter, sashimi (chutoro and sea bream ), grilled prawn with mentaiko, A5 wagyu in paper sachet, and rounding up with mikan jello and musk melon.
Hideyoshi Junmai Daiginjo

What can go wrong?🤪

This is an absolute gem so i’m gonna keep the venue hush for a bit. You can tell not only from the restaurant’s funky name, which sounded modern but actually coined in the Taisho era in Japan (1920s!). Their well concealed exterior, literally ‘a hole in the wall’ , makes it easy to miss even if your Google Map indicates you’ve arrived.

The immediate next challenge is the “door”, which opens into a not so small interior with a fully open kitchen right in the middle of the hall. The wall lights and pendant lights has the aura of stage lighting cast onto the chef and his team of 3 as they perform their well orchestrated preparation of hot and cold izakaya dishes and more.

The chef immediately reminds me of an art or movie director, perhaps his black barret, olive green kimono and dark frame specs exude that artist vibe more than a chef. He works with his team almost without verbal comms - I don’t know how they do it. It’s an exhibition of their tacit understanding to do everything in such coordinated fashion and yet never failing to give attention to its guests. He came round a couple of times despite a full crowd that evening. Yes the chef is certainly an artist! That’s what he is and his food is certainly a glorious work of art.

Surprisingly this was the best item at a shabu-shabu dinner. Topped with cheese, special spicy sauce and mayo.

Incredibly delicious melt in your mouth pork chasiu, one can easily forgive yourself for the indulgence. If only the bun can be closer to those used in Japan, it would be less sticky when you take your bites.

Oh my god, this is Japanese style Bak Chor mee! The much raved about Japanese noodle dish is indeed a gem. The version I had was said to be a Taiwan style and as I chomp down this big bowl of noodle I can already imagine more fusion flavours that can nail this dish, think: Sichuan Mala, Korean Jejungmyeon, and our very own local flavour: Laksa Mezasoba!

Haven’t had a nice Yakiniku grill for some time. The Gyu Bar serves a good variety of wagyu beef and cuts. This nice cut of an A4 Wagyu from Kumamoto is such a joy to grill and savor with a little soy and wasabi.