In general, food in a nation's capital is often more refined (and certainly more elaborate) than food in the countryside. Beijing cuisine is a good example, as is Parisian. So if you were to assume that Tokyo cuisine features subtler flavors and a more sophisticated palette, you would be simultaneously very close to completely right and absolutely wrong. See, the food from Japan's capital city is indeed known for all of those things--just not Tokyo
Kyoto, which was Japan's capital until the late 1800s, is indeed known for subtle refinement to its food. And don't get me wrong, it's delicious, and one of the best meals I've had in my life was a traditional Japanese meal at an inn in Kyoto with my mother
Tokyo-style cuisine (which is actually called Edo-style, after the city's name before it became the capital), on the other hand, is the opposite of all that. Edo was just a small fishing village until the Tokugawa Shogunate moved the country's administrative capital in the late 1500s. Even then, the Imperial Court remained in Kyoto until 1868, so Edo still had a reputation for being a down-and-dirty city full of no-nonsense people and no-nonsense food. Edo-style food features strong flavors, bold tastes, and large portions
This is perfectly encapsulated by one of my new favorite places, Tempura Iseya. Other than obvious changes like glass windowpanes and electric lights, it really doesn't look like the interior or exterior of the shop has changed much in the shop's 126 years of existence. And I get the sense that the food hasn't either
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| Other than plastic tubs and that fridge, don't think the kitchen's changed much, that's for sure |
Now, I'm sure you all have a mental picture in your mind of tempura, one of Japan's most popular culinary exports. I assume that you're picturing prawns, fish, and vegetables, fried in a light and airy batter and served with a light sauce for dipping . . .
Yeah . . . that's Kyoto-style tempura. And proponents of Edo-style tempura think it's for wimps
Edo-style tempura is not a light batter, it is dark and bold. And the sauce is thick and sweet and poured all over everything. In fact, you don't even order piece by piece. I got myself a bowl of kakiage-donburi, the quintessential Edo-style dish: Take whatever you have on hand (shrimp and scallops and onions and peppers and all kinds of tasty), batter it all, fry it until brown and delicious, dump it on top of rice, and cover everything with sauce. Eat it quickly and excitedly, because you are a working man here in Edo!
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| It comes out quickly at Iseya, still blisteringly hot from the fryer. . . but it would be criminal, not to mention near-impossible, to wait for it to cool down |
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| Add in a bowl of hearty miso soup with nameko mushrooms for only 200 yen. And yes, even the soup is thicker and stronger in Edo-style cuisine |
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| These guys, who I can only assume are the Asian cousins of Antonio Banderas and Marlon Brando, saw me taking a picture of my food and told me take one of them as well! |
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| Minowa station, head East and just keep walking until you do a double-take of "dude, that place looks awesome" |
The kanji on the curtain out front is 天 (ten), the first character in the word for "tempura". Any Street Fighter fans among my readership, however, know that that character also means "heaven". Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not
Noah out
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