Japanese Meals

On our last night in Okayama we went to Teppan Ku-Ya on the basis of it having the #1 rating for Okayama restaurants on TripAdviser. It was also only a few minutes walk from our hotel and easy to find. The #1 rating is very well deserved. We were the first customers to arrive when it opened at 6 pm. The chef and his 4 female assistants were casually chatting, but as other customers arrived the kitchen picked up to a frenetic pace to keep up with orders. At times the women were literally running around the restaurant.

On the basis of the TripAdiviser reviews we chose the set menu which consisted of 6 different courses. The first was a selection of tiny appetisers. This was followed by a delicious salad, grilled seafood with vegetables, pork cutlet with a special garlic sauce, and small round dumplings containing a piece of squid and other delights. We had watched these dumplings being made in special cast iron moulds on top of the stove. Dessert was a choice of cheesecake, custard or sorbet.

The servings were appropriately small and every one was beautifully presented and tasted delicious. We watched the chef and his assistants work quickly in the long narrow kitchen preparing the food and drinks for up to 20 people at a time. As we were leaving we were given a thank you card containing 2 tiny origami birds. The total food cost was 5000JPY which is about $80 so it was also very good value.

Tonight we ate at the Hotel Bokaiso as there was no other option! Dinner was shabu-shabu which involves a hotpot of boiling stock into which each diner places tofu, vegetables and thinly sliced meat which was wagyu beef. There was an assortment of sauces and little dishes. We were not keen on many of these, but the main meal was fine if somewhat overpriced at 8,640JPY. Dessert was either a serving of sorbet or ice cream. The sorbet was made from yuzu which is a Japanese citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit. The ice cream was flavoured with gin. Both of these were tasty.

In many restaurants we can simply point to photos of prepared meals on the menus. The food is plentiful, tasty and reasonably priced. Many supermarkets sell small prepared meals which can be reheated at home. Bakeries and patisseries sell individual slices of bread which is a great idea for people who live alone or have limited storage space.