The day we arrived in Tokyo, our Tabelog concierge sent us an email to see if we would be interested in a tempura dinner at Takiya. This restaurant is unusually hard to get in since it is new and hot. We got lucky because someone canceled their reservation at the last minute. I was a bit skeptical about a dinner of just tempura, so I went with some doubt. We ended up having a blast. The dinner was one of the highlights of our trip in Japan.
Our reservation was the second seating of the night at 9PM. Only a nine course tasting menu was provided. Although all courses were tempura, we didn’t feel that we ate deep fried food all night. The chef used safflower oil to deep fry the materials, all of which were local and very fresh, such as seasonal Japanese amberjack, monkfish and snow crab.
The night started with a 5 dish amuse-bouche. Out of these dishes, I liked the monkfish liver the best. Monkfish liver is often called foie gras of the sea because it is as smooth and a bit sweet as real foie gras, but with a taste of the ocean. I have had it in a few Japanese restaurants, and have become a fan of it.
The most interesting dish was shirako (“milt” in English). It looks and tastes like animal brain: soft, creamy, and slightly sweet. The chef made tempura with it and shaved white truffle on top. I liked the contrast between the crispy outside and creamy inside.
Another memorable course was Miyazaki wagyu. This is probably the best beef in Japan — even better than the famous Kobe beef. The meat was beautifully marbled, and tasted tender and sweet. This dish is known as the chef’s signature dish.
We also tried Snow crab. Snow crab is small, but meaty. It is a popular dish during winter.
The dinner ended with a grape fruit jelly dessert. It was made by filling grapefruit rind with the jellied fruit juice. The resulting dish was not as bitter as grapefruit, but even more refreshing.
During dinner, there was one guy sitting beside us alone. He helped us translate when the chef struggled to explain to us what shirako was. We started a conversation over food. We later found out he is a gourmet traveler from Singapore, and has been eating around Asia. His instagram records his impressive gourmet trips, and explains what a real foodie is 🙂
My husband and I are still talking about this dinner today, and hope to return the next time we visit Tokyo. Don’t be scared by nine courses of tempura. We strong suggest you give Takiya a try!
Reference Links:
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1307/A130702/13185763/
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