Crested upon the quaint Nakasu (中洲) Canal overlooking a row of weeping willows lies Yoshizuka Unagiya (吉塚うなぎ屋), a restaurant that was founded since 1873 during the Meiji era. Night has fallen and the surroundings are quiet and dark, as the street lights along the canal shores are far and few in between. The restaurant cannot be more Japanese in its decor. Tatami-decked floors. Washi wallpapers. Kimono-draped waitresses. That a restaurant with such well-kept, classical decor is juxtaposed next to a decrepit and run-down part of town is befuddling. Nonetheless, to satisfy the thirst of food knowledge in me, as well as my gnawing stomach, going to such an outlandish place is not a problem.
As with many other restaurants in Japan, Yoshizuka Unagiya only focuses on one aspect of Japanese cuisine - unagi, or freshwater eel (ウナギ). The eels are sourced from neighboring Shizuoka (静岡県), Kagoshima (鹿児島県) and Miyazaki (宮崎県) Prefectures as the qualities of water and feed in those regions are similar, thus yielding consistency in flavor and texture. The fish are then prepped in a cooking method called Kabayaki (蒲焼), which sees the fish butterflied, cut into squares, dipped in sweet soy sauce before being skewered and grilled, usually over binchotan (備長炭).
The menu is rather short, though this is expected since every dish, be it chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し) or kushiyaki (串焼き), is essentially an iteration on eel. After all, diners come from afar to Yoshizuka purely for the eel. Ergo, the lines may be long, especially during lunch hours. Nevertheless, we arrive on a weekday night, and the restaurant is therefore rather quiet.
Sitting down, we are immediately presented a small dish of tsukemono (漬物), or the dish of accompanying pickles. Leafing through the drinks menu, I also opt for a small carafe of sake. Leafing through the menu, I decide upon the Super Deluxe Kabayaki Box, which comes with white rice and a clear soup made out of eel liver. The meal comes to around 30 USD per person, including alcohol. What a steal.
Tengumai Yamahai Junmai Genshu【天狗舞：山廃仕込み純米生原酒】(Ishikawa Prefecture)
The sake is very clear. On the nose, it is quite sweet and somewhat light. I do get a bit of wild flowers, stone fruits and plenty of yeast funk. While the bouquet is nice, the flavor profile is another story. First the sake lacks body and viscosity. In fact, it is quite lean and poor. Meanwhile, the alcohol taste is sharp and attacks straight on. On the palate, other than some minor fruity notes, the sake is quite bland. The finish is short and the only thing that lingers on is the alcoholic heat. Wow, this is bad. Not going to even bother giving it a rating.
Tsukemono
The carrots are thinly sliced. They are sweet without an ounce of overarching acidity. In fact, they are still fresh.
The cucumbers are fresh too, as evidenced by the turgid, crunchy texture. There is a tad of salinity to it.
Finally, the cabbage is the saltiest of the three. That said, the crunchy texture and the balance of flavors make this a tasty treat.
Kabayaki Box
Ah! The pièce de résistance! Laid inside the lacquered box is a mountain of the best unagi I have ever had. The caramelization on the outer skin is perfect. Perfectly brown in color with just the slightest hint of char. The exterior is crunchy but with a touch of chewiness left on the skin. Sandwiched between are flaky segments of eel and globules of fat that just slick off and drip onto the white rice. There is plenty of umami in the fish and the bones are edible too. I can even taste the deliberate smokiness in the spots where the binchotan-laced flames licks the fish. A judicious dusting of sansho (山椒) provides a numbing effect that accentuates the sweetness of the eel, which when dipped in the accompanying tare (鰻のたれ), creates a decadently rich, complex, oily and smoky flavor. I also particularly like the short grain rice that soaks up the juices and the fats unabashedly. I seldom say this, but the fish, from selection to preparation to execution, is perfect.
A particular mention about the unagi no tare - it is not overly thick like those in other places. Rather, its viscosity is thick though still liquid, like that of first-layer soy sauce (頭抽). Taste-wise, it is sweet and balanced well by umami and salinity. In particular, the fish flavor is very strong in the sauce. I would not be surprised if the shop uses eel bones in crafting the tare. This is prime head to tail cooking.
That fat just glistens underneath the lights. What a sight to behold.
Eel Kimo Soup (肝吸い)
This may be a misnomer, as the liver of the eel is not actually used. Rather, it is the kidney that is placed inside this crystal clear broth. Though the soup looks bland, the flavor is anything but. The dashi is accentuated by the flavor of fish bones. The bed of umami is delicately balanced by the citrus highlights from the kabosu (臭橙) and the deftness from the kinome (木の芽) leaf. The two slivers of offal are spot on, with an oiliness that is commonly found in fish livers. This is fantastic.
The broth is even clearer than consommé.
I have so much respect for the lineage of chefs from this shop, one that has seen through multiple generations. After all, this is an establishment that has perfected the art kabayaki. There is a tacit air of tradition in there, one that pays homage to the culinary art, and one that is honed through the tumultuous throes of history as one generation passes the secret recipe onto the next, father to son. The flavor of the food itself is delicious. After all, the quality at Yoshizuka Unagiya is a far cry (in a good way) from the unagi-don I am accustomed to in New York and Hong Kong. The depth and complexity of flavors are indescribable. But what truly transcends is that flavor of tradition. To me, that is irreplaceable. And that is what makes the pilgrimage to this grilled eel shrine all the more worth it. (1/8/2017)