At times I pick out good eats by the aroma wafting out of the outlet itself . And most of the time , I hit it right on the dot .
While that's how I zeroed in on this little old timers place just outside of Asakusa , I was a bit off mark this time .
On the surface , this tucked away nook appears to be an old favourite patronised by retirees with more silver hairs than my fake red mane . Since I stuck out like a sore thumb , I ended up giving the lady diner who plumped herself next to me quite an unexpected shock ( oh man....) , that she gulped her order of
" shaar - kayh " down in one sitting and promptly forgot I was lodged next to her .
Coming from Narita where at times I had felt that maybe I had been chopped left right and centre , I went back to skint mode and ordered one of the cheapest meals off the menu .
Now , in some places , there is probably a reason why it is cheap and boy did I feel like kicking myself for being penny wise and pound foolish .
These air softened tempura fritters were something new to me . Still , I felt there must be something , these folks are in here for , that I don't know about .
A gasp escaped from my lips when this lovely platter arrived. Costing almost double that meal above , alive with so many beautiful flavours that made me feel as if I were waltzing right in the middle of a bloom filled grassy plateau far , far away from the mad crowds of Tokyo , I reflected .
Last time I had a platter as wonderful as this was in a 5 star diner in another Japanese city many years back . We were hosted by a corporate giant but since I did not have a blog back then and cameras were still analog , there is no way I can show how great ( yet reasonably priced ! due to their ability to wrestle out some corporate discounts ) that meal was .
Of course I was not expecting this one bit . For such a pretty arrangement of chrysanthemum , scallop , squid , prawn , 2 fish meats , a dollop of wasabi and green kelp so remarkably fresh, it still smelt of sea saltwater ! , one would expect to pay a fortune for it , in some fancier address .
The sashimi chef deserves many compliments . Via this blogpost , I hope is the one way I can extend my awe and admiration towards the culinary work of art which he turned out for me ( no special treatment accorded to me or demanded by me and yet wow ! ) .
Truly delighted to have dined here and so glad I don't have to trek to Tsukiji nor coughed up a minimum of two hundred dollars for what a platter so divine .
How to locate the restaurant : refer to the above . Alight from Tawaramachi station . Look for the sakura logo . If you have passed Coco Roro the restaurant is just beside it .
Location : Asakusa , Tokyo
No comments:
Post a Comment