[Tokyo 東京] Mikawa Zezankyo みかわ是山居

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みかわ是山居 Mikawa Zezankyo

Add: 1-3-1 Fukuzumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-3643-8383
Hours: 11am-1:30pm, 5-9:30pm
Website: mikawa-zezankyo.jimdo.com
Price: [lunch] 11,340 yen+ [dinner] 18,360 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

I’ve been hearing about Mikawa Zezankyo for years, and finally got to taste this legendary tempura restaurant on a recent trip to Tokyo. Chef owner Tetsuya Saotome entered the trade at the age of 14, and has been making tempura for over half a century. Along with Jiro Ono (a.k.a. the god of sushi) and Kanejiro Kanemoto (the god of eel), Tetsuya Saotome (the god of tempura) is one of the three major representatives of Edomae cuisine. On a side note, apparently Jiro Ono and Tetsuya Saotome are good friends, and often visit each other’s restaurants.

久仰みかわ是山居多年,這次去東京終于嚐到了。店主兼主廚早乙女哲哉從十四歲開始做天婦羅至今已過了半個世紀,和壽司之神小野二郎以及鳗魚之神金本兼次郎被視為江戶前料理三大代表(聽說早乙女哲哉和小野二郎還是惺惺相惜的好友,經常去對方的餐廳吃飯呢)。

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Mr. Saotome moved into this current house in 2009. The first floor is the restaurant, the 2nd and 3rd floor are exhibition spaces, and the 4th floor is where he lives. The house is filled with artworks, and even the tableware used by the guests are ceramics made by famed contemporary artisans. Fun fact: what looks like a huge hat on top of the work station is actually an exhaust modeled after the shape of the “Borsalino” hat Mr. Saotome wears when he goes out.

早乙女先生在2009年搬到了現在這座小房子,一樓是餐廳,二、三樓是客室與展覽廳,四樓是他的家。這整棟房子裏都是藝術品,連餐具也是當代名家所作的珍貴陶瓷器。下圖工作台上方長的像大帽子的吸油煙機,是按照早乙女先生平時外出時會帶的意大利品牌 “Borsalino” 黑色禮帽特別定制的,有點可愛。

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Having devoted almost his entire life to tempura, Mr. Saotome has developed a most particular way to make tempura, from the coating to the  frying process. Apparently he varies the coating and frying methods according to each ingredient. He may look stern while he’s busy at work, but is actually very friendly when he starts chatting.

把畢生精力投入到天婦羅的早乙女先生從面衣、沾粉、下鍋都有嚴謹的方法,炸不同的食物的時候要考量哪個部份含水多,具體想要達成何種油炸效果從而決定沾粉的位置和多寡。你看他做料理時神情嚴肅,不過和客人聊天時笑起來非常和藹可親哦。

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The word “mikawa” in kanji is “三河”, an area of Nagoya in which Mr. Saotome was born. On the menu, “mikawa” is written in another form of kanji “美川”, which literally means a beautiful river, signifying Mr. Saotome’s vision to serve tempura dishes one after another, like the flow of a river, in front of his guests. For lunch, one can choose the lunch course (11,340 yen) or the omakase course (18,360 yen), the difference being that the omakase course includes uni and matsutake mushrooms.

“みかわ”(mikawa)的漢字是 “三河”,是位於名古屋的一個區域 ,也是早乙女先生的出身地。菜單上寫的則是日語發音相同的 “美川”,表達早乙女先生的意境:讓天婦羅料理如同美麗的流淌的河水一樣一品一品呈現在客人面前。我在中午到訪,有御夕食コース(11,340 日幣)和おまかせコース(18,360日幣)這兩種可以選擇,其中的不同是おまかせコース包含了海膽以及松茸這兩樣高級食材。話說,菜單上的圖示都是早乙女先生自己畫的呢。

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