Suishin, Shimbashi 醉心、新橋

Having wasted the first part of the evening at Hainan Chi-Fan, my dining partner and I trudged through the sodden streets of Shimbashi, umbrellas colliding with the low level shop signs, worried that all the good izakaya would already be full. Wet and hungry I was in no mood to spend much time in finding somewhere dry to eat and drink. Taking a side street not far from the station I spotted a busy looking little place, two floors, the open door providing a glimpse of a warm looking counter and kitchen. Hungry, we hastened inside Suishin.

Depositing our umbrellas in the rack by the door, we were ushered upstairs to the second floor. Not a large place, Suishin’s décor is pretty basic. Simple wooden floors and tables and plaster walls yellowed with decades of cigarette smoke. I’d guess the interior has not changed since the early-eighties at least. The place was packed, all middle-aged salarymen and only one woman among them. Squeezing our way through the jovial crowd of heavy-smoking, heavy-drinking diners we slumped into our seats at a table in the far corner of the room.

Beers ordered, we gave the menu a brief glance. Nothing fancy, your average izakaya fare. Prices seemed a little more than average. Rummaging around in my bag for notebook and camera – you think blogging about izakaya is all fun and games? – my dining partner ordered a selection of dishes from the waitress who had just brought an o-toshi of slimy green okura (okra) with katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes.) The meal started off with my usual oshinko-moriawase of pickled cucumber, carrots, daikon and takuan. Served on a small white dish, this assortment of pickles, although small, looked good enough, and tasted reasonable. Nothing special, but enjoyable all the same. Two skewers of tender chicken sasami grilled with a wasabi sauce coating were pleasant enough, although best eaten while still hot. The menu contains nothing special in the way of salads, and so we opted for a kaisen-sarada (seafood salad), consisting of poorly presented tuna, squid, lettuce, carrot, nuts and seaweed that overall was far too wet. Indeed, the lettuce was so soaked that is had taken on that awful semi-rotten black-green veiny look. The pieces of tuna were small, and I don’t even remember the squid. The parlous state of the salad was made up for by a small plate of ika-yaki (grilled squid) on a bed of lettuce leaves, and a nice dollop of mayonnaise into which the squid was dipped. Fresh and tasty, the slightly chewy texture of squid was enjoyable.

Eager to numb my senses I turned to the sake list. Nothing of note, just a small selection of various grades of Suishin. I made the mistake of ordering the Suishin Taruzake (Suishin sake from the barrel) twice. A non-descript, rough tasting drink served at room temperature in a stubby little glass, with not a drop overflowing into the wooden masu. Having by this point come to the conclusion that this izakaya was rather uninspiring, despite the lively, warm atmosphere, we decided to stick to simple dishes. A moro-kyū (bashed cucumber) arrived with a strong tasting ume (plum) sauce. In fact this was not really moro-kyū, being unbashed, but was edible. The chicken karaage, a few small morsels in a basket with a slice of lemon, was similarly pedestrian. Still desiring sake I then tried the Suishin Namazake (“raw” unrefined sake). This came in a large ni-gō glass tokuri. Nicely chilled, it was much preferable to that I had ordered previously. Content to concentrate on becoming drunk, I barely noticed the small bowl of tako-kimuchi (octopus mixed with kimchi), and then decided bring an end to the meal with yaki-onigiri (baked rice balls) served with two little slices of takuan.

Not exactly the best izakaya I have ever been to. The atmosphere seemed to promise more, and the service was reasonable if not friendly enough. The food itself was rather disappointing, small and over-priced. Despite all this, I can’t be too harsh in my appraisal of Suishin. It is what is. An average, old, simple izakaya intended for salarymen more intent on drinking and talking rather than fine dining. The food is merely a supplement to the more important business of drink and after-hours shoptalk.

I’ll not be making a second visit.

Tel: 

Hainan Chi-Fan, Shimbashi 海南鶏飯、新橋

Hainan Chi-Fan is a Singaporean restaurant in Shimbashi, housed within the Shiodome City Center complex. As my dining partner for the evening had booked the table, I was not aware of the restaurant’s location. If I had known, the alarm bells would have started ringing. Having a natural aversion to izakaya and restaurants inside train stations, shopping centres and corporate buildings I generally try to avoid them. They seem soulless somehow. Less “real.” Arriving at the restaurant on a Friday evening, outside the rain heavy, we found the place to be packed. A good sign I thought, relaxing a little. Happy diners, busy with drinks and conversation, seemed to indicate that this could actually be an enjoyable dining experience, as did the nice smell of the food.

A waiter led us to a small table in the centre of the restaurant. All around were larger tables, and along the walls more tables and faux-leather seating. Menus were provided, and we ordered beer. The atmosphere was certainly lively. Waiting staff bustled by every two seconds, their arms laden with trays of food. This was a problem. Our table not only felt like an island of narrow discomfort amidst a sea of gastronomic relaxation, but also was more or less in the way of the main thoroughfare from the kitchen. Not happy, we asked for a different table, two vacant ones being visible behind us along the wall. Looking put out, the waitress informed us that they were for people who had booked. Retorting with the fact that we too had booked, she said she’d ask the manager. He was of little help either, being busy showing people walking into the restaurant to the tables we coveted. Nothing for it. Downing our drinks almost in one we asked for the bill. No apologies, not even the insincere platitudes one might usually expect from Japanese restaurant staff in such circumstances.

Annoyed, we headed into the rain in search of an izakaya.

Tel: 03-5537-5799

Web: http://www.hainanchifan.com

Images courtesy of Gourmet Navigator

Nozaki Saketen, Shinbashi 野崎酒店、新橋

Friday night in Shinbashi and the multitude of izakaya, sushi shops, tachinomi-ya and yakitori joints are heaving with salarymen and OLs (office ladies.) Walking up and down the streets off the main Shinbashi Nishiguchi Dōri we look into each establishment we pass, waiting for one to take our fancy. Many do, all are full. The izakaya that look good probably are. That being the case, those office workers that frequent the area are already packed into them, frothy beer and potent shōchū flowing freely. Hungry, thirsty, I begin to wonder if we’ll find a place able to accommodate us. Thankfully, as we pass Nozaki Saketen I notice that several customers in the doorway are in fact paying for their meals and about to leave. The place looks promising enough, narrow shop front of glass and a sign declaring the izakaya to be a “jizake senmon”, or “sake specialist”. More importantly there’s a table available.

The table we are led to, after being warmly greeted, is tiny, one of four or five along the right wall, with barely enough room to squeeze into my chair.  Once seated I feel something at my back, and looking over my shoulder see pipes – water I suppose – protruding from the wall, covered in white towels in order to pad them out and make them more comfortable. Running along the left side is a counter, the low “wall” separating it from the open kitchen, above which hang numerous handwritten menu

entries on strips of white paper, is plastered with sake labels. To the side of the kitchen a glowing cooler stands, bottles of nicely chilling sake lined up within. Nozaki Saketen is not large, being made up of a narrow ground floor and squarer basement level, and on this occasion very busy, very lively and very warm.

Thirsty, the first couple of beers are finished before we’ve even ordered our meal, and the o-toshi of kabu (turnip) with chicken mince untouched. When the waitress informs us that our visit is limited to a two-hour period, we hasten to choose. The service brisk, yet polite, our chosen dishes arrive in quick succession. So much so that we soon struggle to fit them on to the table. A large bowl of salad, immediately impressive by dint of its size and good looks, consisting of long, thin slices of daikon, cucumber and tomato upon which is heaped negi-toro (mashed raw tuna fish) and large dollop of mayonnaise. Over this interesting, delicious salad we poured a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi, complimenting the tuna perfectly, and adding something special to the flavour of the salad itself. Moist and crunchy, this unusual take on negi-toro don (bowl of rice with negi-toro on top) is easy to recommend. A selection of pickles – aubergine, cucumber and daikon – accompanies my first glass of Dewazakura, a light, drinkable sake of which many kinds and qualities are available. The soft, fluffy texture of the enormous dashi-maki tamago (egg roll) in fish stock with grated daikon and mayonnaise contrasts well with the crunchy salad and pickles.

Sipping on the pure-as-water Asamayama, a sake from Gunma prefecture, I take in the photos, hanging on the wall, of various stages in the sake making process. Several of the staff of the izakaya are themselves visible in said photos. A grilled fish head of tai (sea bream) soon arrives. Not spectacular, but tasty enough and certainly fresh, it has a distinctly home-cooked feel to it. Tender, only lightly seared, chicken sasami in a yuzu (citron) and green chili pepper sauce introduces a richer flavour to the meal, although the portion of this dish is considerably less generous than those that had come before. Two long skewers of chicken liver in tare sauce, kushiyaki rebā tare, arrive, as does a glass of excellent Masaku Junmai, and while the sake is quite gorgeous, the liver seems over cooked and thus too dry. The waitress hurries by with a fantastic looking bowl of soba (buckwheat noodles) and I notice a bottle of Masumi looking lonely in the cooler, but we are full, and I am tipsy…

Tel: 03-6430-3329 

Torishin, Shimbashi 鳥心、新橋

Shimbashi hosts myriad izakaya, nomiya, bars and restaurants. Not only is the casual visitor spoilt for choice but also easily overwhelmed. A favourite haunt of salarymen, the sheer number of eateries and neon lit bar signs hint of culinary delight, chance encounters and, of course, the possibility of disappointment. As neither my dining partner or I are particularly familiar with the area we had, as is often the best policy, to rely on instinct in selecting our evening's establishment. 

But five minutes stroll from Shimbashi station Torishin's facade appealed immediately. A well presented, thoroughly 'Japanese' style design of wood and noren (shop curtain displaying the name of the establishment) hanging before the entrance seemed to promise quality food, convivial atmosphere and possibly higher than average prices. We were not disappointed on any count.  

Entering the warmly-lit, cozy interior of wooden beams, kitchen counter of polished wood and raised table seating we were greeted by a polite gaijin-friendly woman who quickly showed us to a place at the counter from which we could enjoy the shelved display of quality shochu and patron's 'keep bottles'. Coats and umbrellas were taken and carefully hung, and drink orders promptly taken with a smile. 

Thanks to the lively atmosphere, the air filled with the sound of conversation and lively laughter of groups of salarymen and young couples, one soon slipped into the mood of the place and felt comfortably at ease. Although not a large space, the counter seating was not, as can all too often be the case, cramped although the table area certainly seemed to offer a more comfortable dining experience. 

Browsing the limited menu it became apparent that Torishin is a Yakitori-ya (shop specializing in grilled chicken morsels on skewers) specializing in shochu. That said a small but choice selection of nihonshu (sake) is also available. Accompanied by an initial otsumami (appetizer) of dried, baby shrimp in vinegar and grated daikon (radish) with soy-sauce the smooth, dry taste of Seikyo provided the greatest thrill in terms of nihonshu. Later the Hiraizumi was somewhat uninspiring while old favourites such as Kubota were over-priced. 

The Torishin-salad was a pitiful affair of lettuce, tomato, yellow pepper and chicken in a painfully mundane dressing. Why the proprietor, a Mr. Huruta Takashi, deigns attach his shops name to such a dish is beyond me. Fortunately the quality of further dishes, such as the assorted kushi plate comprising of two skewers each of chicken liver, chicken and leak, and tsukune (minced chicken) and chicken sasami (lean chicken meat) with plum sauce and seaweed, were excellent with the skewers of chicken liver being grilled to perfection being neither over- or under-cooked and thus exquisitely tender. Certainly it has been many years since I last encountered liver tasting this good.  

Other highlights included lightly salted skewers of onion and shitake mushroom, and a sesame coated grilled onigiri (riceball). The menu is somewhat limited with each dish being a little too small for my taste. However, that which is on offer, salad aside, is a considered, well presented selection that encourages a second visit. Prices are somewhat higher than average although the quality of the food combined with the pleasant service and atmosphere of place go someway to justifying them. Fresh ingredients, careful cooking and a clean shop interior all add to the joy of dining at Torishin.

My only complaint other than the price and size of the dishes is that the counter does not look onto a kitchen. The kitchen is itself behind doors to the side of the counter area, with food only appearing in the counter 'kitchen' to be served. The ability to watch ones meal being cooked is always a bonus...

Still, I will no doubt be making another visit to Torishin although with so many other enticing restaurants in the area I may well be distracted... 

Tel: 03-5405-2785

Munakata, Ginza むなかた、銀座

Munakata, a small, popular Japanese restaurant, is located in the basement level of the Hotel Komuzu, near Shimbashi station. Seemingly very popular with foreign tourists, not doubt guest at the hotel itself, and Japanese, Munakata serves 'traditional' Japanese food at, during lunch time at least, very reasonable prices. 

Interior decoration is 'classic' Japan. Wood, bamboo and tatami mats. Brightly lit, simple. A choice of tables, counter seats or zashiki (Japanese-style room devoid of chairs) is available. We opted for the zashiki which, apart from the ill-suited western music piped in just ever so slightly too loudly, is comfortable and spacious containing four low tables each capable of accommodating 4-5 diners. 

The always excellent Yebisu beer is available on tap. The lunch menu comprises a selection of teishoku, set course, meals of various size and composition. These meals are served on large faux-lacquer trays and a selection of bowls, plates and layered 'boxes'. The 'Japaneseness' of the tableware, along with the polite service by kimono-clad waitresses, may well go some way to explaining the restaurant's popularity with foreign tourists. 

The particular lunch set we ordered commenced with a simple salad topped with fried wan-tan noodles and citrus dressing. This was followed in timely fashion by the main courses, all neatly arranged on the above mentioned tray. An excellent variety of dishes added to the interest of the meal. A half-kabutoni of tai (fish head of sea bream) in the usual sake, soya and sugar sauce; tempura of fish, shrimp and vegetables; tuna sashimi with tororo (a sticky white substance made from a variety of potato that, sadly, brings resembles cuckoo spit); boiled spinach with sesame, kiriboshi daikon (dried daikon with fried tofu); and yet another smaller tuna sashimi dish, this time topped with a plum sauce. All this supplemented by boiled rice, miso soup and pickled hakusai (Chinese cabbage).

Although not worthy of Michelin stars, each dish was tasty, well presented, and as a whole the lunch was of a good size. Furthermore, costing just 1,800 yen it was excellent value. 

Munakata will, however, cease trading on January 15th. It is to be replaced by an udon noodle restaurant, apparently. 

Tel: 03-3574-9356.