We were feeling a bit tired after having a full day. So we decided to stay close to the apartment. With ESCA and whole bunch of other shopping centers the choice for dinner was endless. The Missus was fascinated with a place just a block away. Upon entering this place looked basically like an Izakaya......the day was finishing up for folks here in Nagoya. And folks were enjoying a beer (or two) and a bite (or more) to eat.
Looking at the menu cracked me up....along with a bunch of "obanzai" style dishes, there seemed to be every Nagoya specialty on the menu....from Nagoya Teba, to Miso Katsu, to Hitsumabushi, to Kishimen! And some of the menu translations were quite humorous as well.......
We ordered a random collection of dishes and were quite surprised at how good some of them was.
The Missus isn't a fan of Kushi Katsu; but She went for it ordering two Miso Kushi Katsu.
The miso here isn't overly salty, a tad sweet, a thick, hearty texture, the panko was still crisp, the pork surprisingly tender.
The Missus was totally in love with offal in Japan, so the "Gacchan"; pork stomach stew was a natural choice.
Again, with miso, this was very nicely sweet - miso umami, comforting, the pork stomach had a nice chew.......again, surprisingly not very salty.
Out of curiosity, I ordered the kishimen, Nagoya's signature noodle soup. Not expecting much, we, especially the Missus, was pleasantly surprised.
The broth had a nice, almost a condensed, dashi flavor, deep umami. The flat, udon like noodles, had a good stretch to them and the texture stood up for the entire bowl. The Missus enjoyed this so much, she asked me to find one other shop for this before we left.......that was going to be a bit of a challenge, but I did find a shop (stay tuned) in an interesting location.
We were really enjoying ourselves and decided to try some other items....including this.
Yep, local beer....made with red miso? Ohhhh-kay.
Interesting flavor; slightly sweet salty-caramel, mildly malty. Not something I'd crave....but nice to try once.
I just couldn't "not" order the Unagi Honsenbei.....but man, this was way too large a portion.
Crisp, crunchy, nicely salted....... the Missus got tired of this fairly quickly.
We decided to end with the Tori Nanban....it's usually chicken karaage, topped with vinegar and tartar sauce. What we got was a bit too over-the-top for us.
The flavor of the karaage itself was fairly neutral; decently fried, a bit of soy and some nice savory tones. That sauce was a bit too much......like a crazy thousand island dressing; mayo-ketchup, with green onions, celery......carrots! Overpowering the chicken. We'd obviously hit the wall after this one........
Kaburaya was a pleasant surprise and the Missus really enjoyed Herself. In fact, She'd want another Izakaya during this trip.
The service here was quite friendly. We loved the young lady who Served us, "my English is pretty good, yes?" Yes, it was.
Kaburaya Main Store
15-8 Tsubakicho Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, 453-0015
Chitose GL building B2 - 1F
Open Daily 11am - 1130pm
we tried that beer too, I thought it had a bitter aftertaste
Posted by: kat | Monday, 01 May 2017 at 09:09 PM
That's interesting Kat, because I think the IBU for that beer is kind of low. I thought it had a malty, almost vegetal after taste....though everybody's palate is different.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 02 May 2017 at 06:58 AM
Izakayas are always fun. You get to sample a bunch of local food.
Posted by: Junichi | Tuesday, 02 May 2017 at 10:57 AM
They sure are Junichi....never thought the Missus would enjoy them so much though!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 02 May 2017 at 11:58 AM