Kagurazaka is one of Tokyo’s big streets for good restaurants. It’s central, but it’s not much of a shopping area and it’s not all that convenient to get to, so unless I have some specific reason I rarely end up there. This time I made a reservation in advance and went there on purpose..
Shutoan in Yotsuya
I’d heard it’s a popular izakaya these days, so I tried to drop in before heading to Kagurazaka, but it was packed. It’s such good value for money that I guess that’s why. So I went straight to Kyorakutei, the place famous for soba and udon that I’d been planning to visit anyway. Apparently it has one Michelin star. There was a queue at Kyorakutei too, but we got in before long. Looking back now, I didn’t take a photo of the outside. Probably because it was so cold.
The cups for today
They ask you to pick one from these, and I should have gone for a bigger one. Pouring over and over into a small one gets tedious.. In Japan, a soba restaurant often doesn’t mean a place that sells just soba, but one where you have all kinds of drinks and small dishes and then finish with soba at the end. If you go to a famous soba place, eat only a bowl of soba and leave, you walk out knowing almost nothing about the place.
First drink: Hanaizumi “Roman” nama-genshu kasumi-zake
I started with nama-genshu, fri13th’s absolute favourite. Since it’s undiluted and unpasteurised, a floral aroma rises from the sake, and it’s smooth on the palate too. The only downside of genshu is its short shelf life, which makes it hard to drink abroad. So when you get the chance, you have to drink it while you can.
Pouring a glass..
And off we go.
Kombu served as the otoshi
It comes automatically when you order a drink, and it was nice and clean.
Gyusuji nikomi
With all the green onion on top you may not see it well, but the broth is clear and clean. I’d never had nikomi like this in my life. If you eat it the classic, rough-and-ready way, shochu would have been a better match, but this version went really well with sake.
Ou daiginjo nama-genshu, Yamada Nishiki
The food was so good that I moved straight on to the next drink. The second one is genshu as well, and every genshu here is delicious. It practically sticks to your lips.
Dojo karaage
Deep-fried loach. They’re fried so nice and crisp that they’d probably pair better with beer than with sake.
Shioyaki of Aizu jidori chicken
Salt-grilled chicken, but this one felt like it was missing something. Probably because the seasoning is light across the board.
Tenmei Kame-no-o junmai
The tokkuri keeps changing. Seems like a fun concept. Compared with the genshu, this felt a touch lacking.
Niku-dofu
Niku-dofu is meat and tofu simmered like a nikomi, and this also came out in a very clear style, just like the nikomi. It was an original flavour I’d never had before, but it beat my expectations. One sake-friendly dish after another.
Shirauo tamagotoji
It looks a bit like porridge, and it tastes slightly like it too. It’s icefish simmered in beaten egg. Light and soft, it’s perfect for winter.
Hiroki junmai ginjo, Omachi
Well.. it feels like I’m ordering one drink per dish. But at an izakaya where both the sake and the food are this good, that’s only natural. I’m going to drink quite a bit tonight.
Shrimp from the tempura moriawase course
Now I ordered the assorted tempura, planning to eat something a bit heavier before finishing with soba. Exquisite tempura comes out. This place seems to have mastered almost every genre of cooking.
Assorted vegetables, 3 pieces
Fried nice and crisp.
Anago
I’ve had better anago than this ^_^ but this one is probably the better match for sake.
Izumikawa junmai ginjo tokusen
Looks like the tokkuri have finally gone full circle. By now I’d drunk so much that I couldn’t tell the finer details of the flavour, other than that it was very good.
Raw oysters
Still, it’s winter, so I had to have an oyster. Compared with the other dishes, it was a little less satisfying.
Ginkgo nuts
I had a bit of sake left, so I ordered a light snack to finish it off. The ginkgo nuts were roasted really well too.
Finally, the time came to eat soba at the end. Looking at reviews of this place, some people say the soba is top class in Tokyo and the udon is number one in Tokyo, so I was curious how good it really is. So I ordered one of each.
Soba toppings
The aroma of katsuobushi tickles my nose. Even though I was full, my appetite came right back.
Hot soba
Soba served in hot broth. Clean-tasting, just like the dishes so far. This is what truly high-level soba looks like.
Zaru udon
The noodles and the cooking are perfect, like a refined work of art. It doesn’t have a rough, hearty flavour, but it’s elegant and beautiful. It’s a different style from Sanuki udon, so calling it number one in Tokyo is a bit of a stretch, but I’d cautiously venture that it could be called number one among Kanto-style udon.
So this is how it earned its Michelin star, I thought. I think I’ll remember it for a long time. Next time I’d love to come back with some like-minded friends.