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2014-11-22
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I love mentaiko. I simply love it. When I see it on the menu, I always order it. So, when I saw this restaurant that served only mentaiko, I made a note to try it one day. And that day was ... today.I came here for lunch and surprisingly, it was empty. Well, not really empty but there was one other person there. I don't know why as prices were not expensive. Sets were below $200.The place was very plain. Red chairs. Dark wood tables. There was a bar table in the center that showcased various men
I came here for lunch and surprisingly, it was empty. Well, not really empty but there was one other person there. I don't know why as prices were not expensive. Sets were below $200.
The place was very plain. Red chairs. Dark wood tables. There was a bar table in the center that showcased various mentaiko products.
I ordered a tararan rice bowl set. Prices were dependent on the topping of choice and ranged from $98 - 170. Toppings were things like salmon, burdock, etc. The rice bowl already includes mentaiko, egg and bamboo shoots. You can order extra toppings on top of the one topping you choose for an extra charge. You can choose a full size or a "Junior" size. As I don't have a huge appetite, I choose the junior size and seared salmon for topping ($98).My set came in a tray and I noticed the lovely little plastic red maple leaf for decoration. Pretty attention to details.
Set included a chawanmushi, appetizer, salad, coffee or ice cream.The chawanmushi was smooth and perfectly steamed. Taste was delicate.
Appetizer was marinated burdock. These were very crunchy and salty. I usually don't like burdock but these were pretty good.
Salad was a mentaiko potato salad. This was really quite good. The potato salad was creamy. The added mentaiko gave it a bit of kick.
I ordered the junior size tararan bowl. Portion was quite decent and very glad I ordered the junior size as it was a lot of rice. You eat the tararan bowl in three parts and it was nicely explained to me by the waitress. First you mix up the ingredients and eat some of it. Then you add the seasonings and eat it that way. Finally, you pour a very light fish broth to make like a congee and finish it off. The fish broth was given to me in a large Thermos kettle to keep it warm.Upon mixing up all my ingredients, you can taste the small spicy mentaiko with the crunch of the bamboo shoots.
The seasonings were black and white sesame seeds, wasabi, nori, spring onions and shiso. After adding the seasonings, it made the rice even more fragrant.
Third step was to add the fish broth. The broth was very light and not over powering. Which is good so as not to over take the mentaiko present. It did sweeten the flavors some what and made it even better.
The set included a coffee or choice of ice cream. Ice cream choices was matcha, black sesame and salt. I chose salt. This was amazingly good. Though not a very smooth ice cream, the taste was a mix of salty and sweet. A combination I love a lot and this was a great palate clenser after my meal.
Service was attentitive and professional. Lunch prices were very inexpensive. I will return and perhaps try the mentaiko egg roll next time.
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