| Restaurant Review |
By Kevin Mcgue |
Fukunokami
Enjoy a spring evening of hearty hotpots on the Tokyo waterfront
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| Photos courtesy of Food Stadium |
April evenings in Tokyo offer some of the most romantic weather of the year. Sunset gets later every day, and a cool, pleasant breeze blows across Tokyo Bay. Such an evening, perhaps after an afternoon of strolling in the nearby Hamarikyu Gardens, is the perfect time to head to Fukunokami for one warm and cozy meal.
Fukunokami is a short walk from Hinode station on the futuristic Yurikamome line. (Don’t look for a driver on the train—there isn’t one.) We had heard that the restaurant was small and homey, so when our map directed us to a large and very modern office building, we were sure we’d gotten lost. But after asking for directions, we realized that this rustic Kyushu-style eatery sits in one corner of the building.
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As we were shown to a small table at the back of the restaurant, we noticed that it had its own gas burner. This makes sense, as the specialty of the house is mizutaki, a chicken and vegetable hotpot that diners prepare themselves. Most of the tables are on the small side, which was fine, as most of the customers appeared to be couples on dates. Up for something new, we ordered a few glasses of Lento (¥480), a black sugar shochu from Kagoshima. It had a light, crisp bite, and got us ready to try the Kyushu-style cuisine.
Since cooking at the table is always fun, we decided to go with the house specialty, ordering a set meal of mizutaki with tofu, mushrooms and cabbage (¥2,400). Our waiter informed us that this would take a bit of time to prepare, so we munched on satsuma-age (¥680), lightly breaded and deep-fried fish patties, and ebi hasami-age (¥780), a fried shrimp dish somewhat like tempura.
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We ordered a few glasses of Shirayuki sake (¥680) from Hyogo prefecture, which arrived together with our main course. The gas burners were snapped on, and bubbling hotpots of homemade chicken broth were placed on them. Next we were presented with bamboo dishes overflowing with tender chicken, tofu, shiitake and enoki, and assorted veggies. Our server kindly told us which ingredients we should add first, as they take longer to cook. The hotpot produced a wonderful array of scents while the fresh ingredients slowly stewed. When everything was ready, we pulled out the chunks of tofu, veggies and meat, dipped them quickly in ponzu, and feasted.
Following a recent trend among Japanese restaurants, the menu at Fukunokami offers mizutaki dishes that are rich in collagen, an animal protein used in cosmetic surgery. Whether eating collagen actually has any cosmetic effect is still a matter of debate, but chicken soup has been known for its curative properties since the middle ages. So if you’re suffering from hay fever or the spring sniffles, head to Fukunokami for some filling comfort food.
1F Seavans Amall, 1-2-2 Shibaura, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5232-2929. Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-2:30pm and 5-10:30pm, closed Sun & hols. Menu in Japanese. Smoking unrestricted. Nearest stn: Hinode. http://r.gnavi.co.jp/p592900
For many people, kaiseki ryori is the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine: a large number of courses, each meticulously prepared and beautifully presented, which together cover the full range of sashimi, vegetables, meat, soup, and rice. The drawback is that eating in a silent tatami mat room where a kimono-clad waitress enters every few minutes with new food can give you the feeling of dining in a museum. So it was with relief that we arrived to a pre-opening event at Ken, a new Japanese eatery in trendy Jiyugaoka, to find a chic, but not sterile, interior of mixed wooden flooring with shoji screens and tiny pebble gardens. The sounds of bossa nova lightly mingling with the extraordinary fragrances emanating from the kitchen told us we were in for a different kind of Japanese dining experience. We were shown to a comfortable and very private table for two, with a beautiful piece of Japanese calligraphy hung above it, and instead of ordering from the a la carte menu, we opted for a kaiseki course. The Sakura, Ume, and Momo dinners come with five, seven, and nine courses respectively, priced at ¥5,250, ¥7,350, ¥9,450. The Momo course promptly began with a lovely marbled tofu dish, colored with a paste made from green peas—and even topped in gold leaf. There followed eight more courses, each more stunning than the last, and served on a succession of gorgeous dishes. In Ken, we had found the perfect place for celebrating a special occasion or treating ourselves to a fantastic meal.
J121 Bldg, 1-21-4 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku. Tel: 03-5726-3166. Open Wed-Mon 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-midnight, closed Tue. Nearest stn: Jiyugaoka. Kevin McGue |
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