Winter 2004 - Yakitori - Tempura - Traditional Tokyo Cuisine - Master Chef Cuisine
Itamae Kappo, Master Chef Cuisine
Behind the Noren — Inside the Itamae Kappo
text by Robbie Swinnerton
When it comes to eating out in Japan, visitors are faced with a bewildering array of options. Tokyo alone boasts more than 100,000 eateries, ranging from humble mom-and-pop diners to sleek designer restaurants and up-market sushi bars.
The variety of cooking styles is daunting. A restaurant specializing in prime Matsuzaka beef may stand alongside one devoted to eel. There are basic noodle joints where you can spend next to nothing, and exclusive ryotei where captains of industry dine on bottomless expense accounts.
 1. The master chef will greet you after you are seated. |
 2. Sakuragawa, local sake of Nigata, is highly recommended. |
 3. The chef will fill your first cup of sake. Enjoy your lunch. |
Many of the finest cooks in Japan work in diminutive premises. From the outside, all you may see is a sign in kanji and a sliding door with its simple noren curtain. This is the typical facade of the itamae kappo. As the name (literally, "chef cuisine") suggests, this is the domain of the itamae, the master chef who presides over a small team of assistants. The scale is intimate, usually little more than an L-shaped counter plus a couple of tables and perhaps a small room for customers requiring privacy.
This layout affords intimacy. At a kappo (as these places are called) you can watch the itamae at work, converse with and quiz him on each dish and the provenance of the ingredients. This will be a matter of no little pride, since the quality is invariably first-rate, with seafood and vegetables sourced directly from fishing ports and farmers at the furthest extremities of the country.
 4. Try black beans pickled in brandy, boiled Kyoto vegetables. |
 5. Have soup with tilefish and shimeji mushrooms. |
 6. Here's sliced raw tuna, bigfin reef squid, and blowfish. |
Some kappo provide a hand-written menu, which changes daily according to foods in season. Most often the itamae will prepare a set meal, which you will have agreed on when you made your reservation. Favorite foods (or items to be avoided) can be arranged in advance, so this system is not a limitation. After deciding what you want to drink, all you need to do is relax and let the meal unfold.
The menu will closely follow the conventions of kaiseki ryori, the multi-course Japanese haute cuisine, in which a succession of exquisite dishes, each cooked in a different style, is served in prescribed order. You will start with a couple of delectable appetizers (known as sakizuke), followed by a steaming bowl of soup (owan), usually containing slivers of white-meat fish and colorful seasonal vegetables in a fragrant clear broth.
 7. Scampi and matsutake mushrooms will grill on a stone. |
 8. A conger eel is wrapped in dried gourd shavings. |
 9. A bowl of rice is topped with yuba and shark's fin. |
For connoisseurs, this soup is the true measure of an itamae's skills. Likewise with the dish that follows: a few cuts of prime sashimi (tsukuri). Good sashimi demands to be accompanied by a thimbleful (or three) of premium sake. This is a match made in culinary heaven, one of the supreme flavor combinations in any cuisine. If you sit at the counter, the chef himself may reach over to pour that first cupful.
This is classic slow-food dining, Japanese style. There won't be other customers waiting to take your place at the counter, so you won't be rushed. You are expected to linger. After all, this is eating and entertainment all in one.
 10. Taste coconut mousse and fruits of the season. |
 11. Finish off your meal with bracken-starch dumplings. |
 12. Green powdered tea will refresh your palate. |
Sakuragawa
With its traditional wood front and understated interior, this is a classic itamae kappo. There is counter seating for 10, plus two small side rooms. Chef Kurahashi is a quiet man who prefers to let his food do the talking. He cooks delectable full-course meals in the style of his native Osaka, which many local gourmets rate as the finest food in Japan. No doubt that is why, since opening in 2002, Sakuragawa has become one of the most popular restaurants of its kind in Tokyo.
SK Roppongi heim 1F
6-8-21 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-3408-0039
Open 12 PM to 2 PM, 6 to 8 PM
Closed some Mondays
The 10,000 yen dinner comprises 10 dishes, including his trademark sliced breast of duck. Unusually, Sakuragawa opens for lunch as well, offering 8 dishes for 5,000 yen.
Tengenji Sasaoka
Nakamura Building 1F
2-17-18 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-3444-1233
Open 12 PM to 1:30 PM, 6 to 10 PM
Closed Sundays, 2nd and 4th Saturdays, holidays
Lunch from 3,000 yen
Dinner 10,000 yen - 15,000 yen
No a la carte
Kaiseki Komuro
Kanai Bldg 1F
13 Wakamiya-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-3235-3332
Open from 12 PM to 1 PM, from 6 PM
Closed Sundays, Monday lunch, holidays
Lunch 6,000 yen - 16,000 yen
Dinner from 12,000 yen; chef's specialty from 22,000 yen
What you should know before dining in Japan
Japanese cooking reflects the seasons
The real charm of authentic Japanese restaurants is that customers can enjoy seasonal themes in the ingredients, dishware, and atmosphere. The same dishes may not be available when you visit in different seasons. If you have something particular in mind, ask about its availability beforehand. On any particular day, the restaurant will be delighted to suggest its seasonal delicacies.
Abundance of fresh seafood menus
Fresh seafood is particularly tasty. You will be duly convinced of the supreme freshness and wide variety of Japanese seafood if you visit the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. It's the largest wholesale fish market in the world, with almost 400 kinds of fresh seafood arriving daily.
Specialty Japanese restaurants of Japanese cuisine
At Japanese restaurants specializing in food such as unagi (broiled eel), sushi, soba noodles, and tempura, menus rarely vary. Expect to stick to the specialty. If you don't like certain things, such as raw fish, let the chef know before ordering.
Payment
Since a service charge is included in the bill, you don't need to leave a gratuity. At authentic, high-end restaurants, payment is accepted at each table. At more casual places you're expected to take the bill to a register near the entrance. |
