<a target="_blank" href="http://www.gyo-kaijin-urakatamachi.com/">Gyo-kaijin</a>

920-0981 Ishikawa

Kanazawa

Katamachi

2 Chome−2−25 1F

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;APRIL 12, 2024The
Food:

Assorted
sashimi platter: sea urchin, squid, sea bream, tuna and king prawn

Blackthroat
sea perch (nodoguro) with bonito flakes

Rice
bran-pickled blowfish ovaries

Avocado
with akegarashi mustard miso

Sauteed
maitake and fried dried young sardines salad

Diced
Noto pork cooked in Kagabocha tea

Figs
with cream cheese

The Wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>Azuma Sake
 Brewery SEVEN Shinsen Junmai Ginjo Nama</td>
 <td>91</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Kiyoto Sake Brewery Kachikoma
 Junmai</td>
 <td>95</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Fumigiku Sake Brewery Haneya
 Shine Limited Namagenshu&nbsp; &nbsp;</td>
 <td>94</td>
 </tr></tbody></table>By the time you read this Vinous Table, <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2023-the-year-in-review-dec-2023">my end-of-year review</a> will be in the rearview mirror. This restaurant was the one I chose as my favorite meal of 2023, and it won simply because of the unsurpassed elation that the food and the place elicited. This is the place that I want to return to more than any other in Japan.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930276050-counter+%281%29.jpg">The Gyo-kaijin counter What
caused my euphoria? Cuisine aside, maybe it is partly because I enter with
modest expectations. After all, it is a last-minute booking, having consulted the
hotel receptionist in Kanazawa. I was not seeking the city’s best restaurant, but
rather, if she could recommend anywhere half-decent within walking distance. It
is also partly due to the restaurant’s lack of pretension, a virtue that
appeals more and more, perhaps reflecting a more general move away from fussy
gastronomy. Gyo-kaijin is down-to-earth without a trace of pomposity. Décor is no
different to Japan’s countless local bars and izakayas: a wooden
interior with bare varnished tables, a counter with a dozen or so seats
overlooking a typically small but functional kitchen. I am instantly struck by
the lively atmosphere, clusters of office workers loosening their ties,
enjoying frothing beer and grub. As they become louder and crimson-cheeked, I
wonder if they appreciate the quality of the food or whether they are inured to
its excellence. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712929927501-menu+%281%29.jpg">The&nbsp;Gyo-kaijin menu Greatest
hits from Billy Joel and Cindy Lauper play in the background as I take a ringside
seat to watch the team of young, casually attired chefs in black t-shirts work
together as a well-oiled machine under the discrete direction of the laconic
but friendly head chef. Ornately-decorated, brightly-colored lacquerware from
the Kutani-yaki pottery is neatly piled in columns along the counter. The menu
is presented and, without asking, is offered in both English and Japanese, each
with useful illustrations of every dish. Perhaps it gives the false impression
that Gyo-kaijin is a step down in terms of culinary excellence, a mistake that
many make coming to the country. “This is a restaurant where cool adults gather
to have a ‘gorgeous feast’ in Kanazawa,” reads the menu’s introduction. I’m not
sure about “cool adults”. But “gorgeous feast” is spot on. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712929954049-sashimi+platter+%281%29.JPG">Assorted sashimi platter: sea urchin, squid, sea bream, tuna and king prawn 

We
commence with a sashimi platter and pause to bask in its presence. The luster of
the raw fish indicates that these finned and tentacled ocean dwellers were
swimming around mere hours ago. It is heavenly. Every mouthful elicits tears of
pleasure. Deciding which slice to broach next is torturous as it means one less
sashimi to savor. I’ve been privileged to eat sashimi from some of Japan’s most
renowned establishments, and this ranks alongside the best. It’s the
nonchalance that blows me away, served without airs and graces, sea urchin,
squid, sea bream, tuna and king prawn, decorated with bonito flakes, lime,
ribbons of daikon and freshly-shaved wasabi. This sashimi platter is my
gustatory highlight of 2023, presented on exquisite lacquerware.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712929979248-nodoguro+%281%29.jpg">Blackthroat sea perch (nodoguro) with bonito flakes 

Next, a
local specialty of blackthroat sea perch, known as nodoguro, is literally
named after the black markings around its mouth. This fish is a native of the
Sea of Japan and lurks 200m-300m beneath the waves, making it comparatively
difficult to fish and is therefore highly prized. You will find it on many
menus restaurants around Kanazawa and Japan’s north coast, plus high-end
restaurants further afield. Don’t embellish this fish too much because you want
to appreciate its sweet fattiness and oily texture. The bonito flakes are all that
is necessary.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930009810-blowfish+%281%29.JPG">Rice bran-pickled blowfish ovaries 

Next, blowfish
ovaries that had been pickled in rice bran. Blowfish, or fugu, is Japan’s infamous
poisonous delicacy and obliges specially-trained chefs to prepare it and avoid the
mortuary slab. Every year, two or three people die from eating it. Fortunately,
I was not one of them. This dish had an arresting, bitter, almost acrid tang
that threatened to overwhelm the blowfish, a distinctive taste and texture I
appreciated more after a few bites. It’s a flavor that you could learn to love.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930036522-avocado+%281%29.JPG">Avocado with akegarashi mustard miso 

A straightforward
dish follows: slices of avocado that are beautifully garnished with akegarashi
mustard miso. Wonderful! Plus, there is no chance of death. &nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930061708-maitake+%281%29.jpg">Sauteed maitake and fried dried young sardines salad 

Next is
a divine dish of sautéed maitake mushrooms (aka hen of the woods) served with fried
dried young sardines and salad. These are the most delicious fungi and seem
impossible to buy here in the UK, even though they are inexpensive to buy in
Japan. I’ve seen them served at some of London’s top restaurants, so they must
be available somewhere. So nuanced in flavor, the maitake mushrooms are perfectly
cooked and marry perfectly with the tiny sardines.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930089749-pork+%281%29.JPG">Diced Noto pork cooked in Kagabocha tea 

The diced
Noto pork is cooked in Kagabocha tea and is served on exquisite aquamarine lacquerware.
This is packed full of flavor, the meat is tender and fleshy, and the skin is
brittle and avoids any chewiness. Maybe with this dish, I should have ordered
some rice to just tone down its intensity. Otherwise, it is absolutely
delicious. We finish with fresh figs and cream cheese. The latter is served as
a rabbit for reasons I never enquire about.

This is
a restaurant where wine does not seem an ideal match, so Japanese sake is ordered.
In hindsight, this was the night when my appreciation of sake clicked. If
someone had offered a Montrachet, then I would have waved them away. The menu provides
useful information on the variety of sake wines and the temperature at which
they are served. The top of the page reads: “We have some hidden sake. Please
ask the staff.”

I ask.

The SEVEN
Shinsen Junmai Gingo Nama from the Higashi Shuzo Sake Brewery,
founded in 1860 in Ishikawa, is so called because Yusuke Higashi is the seventh
owner. Sales are limited to just seven stores. It is released in July, and
seven is a lucky number in Japan. Served cold, this sake is all about purity of
taste with no obvious flavors that leap out at you. It is equivalent to some of
the neutral, low-intervention wines that I encounter in South Africa. There is
a subtle resinous scent on the nose, perhaps a distant note of mountain pine.
The palate is exquisitely balanced, fresh and slightly oily in texture. It is a
perfect foil for the sashimi, cleansing the mouth with each sip.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1712930117515-sake+glasses+%281%29.jpg">Two
of the “hidden sake” bottles posing with the ornate glassware in which it was
served. 

Now for
two of the “hidden sake” offered by the owner, to which I say, arigato
gozaimasu.

The Kachikoma
Junmai Nama was the first limited sake bottling from the Kiyoto Sake
Brewery in Takaoka City in the Toyama Prefecture, founded in 1897 and
registered as a cultural property in 2000. Production is limited because this
sake is handmade by just five brewers from Gohyakumangoku rice, which is 50%
polished. Served cold, the bouquet is complex with hints of dried banana skin
and Anjou pear. Like the SEVEN sake, the palate is all about umami sensation,
fresh and lively but with real depth, just a very slight bitterness imparting
tension on the oily-textured finish. The Haneya Shine Limited Namagenshu
comes from the Fumigiku Sake Brewery in Toyama, founded in 1916, using
water from the Joganji River that flows from the 3,000-meter mountains. Again,
this is an artisan operation. Slightly more aromatic on the nose, there was a
hint of rosewater and yellow fruit. The palate is slightly more viscous in
texture yet with ample freshness and weight on the finish. It’s all about the
umami, and it is absolutely delicious.

Gyo-kaijin
encapsulates everything life-affirming about Japan’s dining scene. It is
inexpensive, has impeccable service, a lively ambiance and, most of all, a
standard of cuisine that you have to eat to believe. It was a serendipitous
discovery, but knowing Japan as I do, I recognize that there were probably half
a dozen other establishments lurking around the corner that would blow my mind
and my tastebuds in a similar fashion.

Next
time.<div><div></div></div><div><div>© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.</div></div>

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