Ruchismita Mukherjee 84 Reviews, 318 Followers Follow 8 days ago Rated In Calcutta, I have almost no one to accompany me for my occasional Udon cravings. So I am quite playing the self-proclaimed Japanese food evangelist here. I love Japanese food - the subtle flavorful taste and texture plays havoc with my senses each time I eat good Japanese food. There are a quite a few good places in the city now, but they remain unexplored maybe because people are apprehensive about the unknown (and the expensive, if I may add). The average Indian palate chooses Harakiri when offered a uber-subtle, uber-sensual, slick and quaintly delectable Japanese meal. It isnt your everyday dal makhni, butter chicken or super thick biriyani...its different, slow burning, tender, a little off-kilter, like Murakami was cooking and writing a haiku poem with noodles! All subtlety, all delicate pecks to the taste buds, all natural sauces and flavours melting in the earthen pots and steaming brews. Comfort food for the samourai. Not the mac-aloo consumer. But still I would want to urge the readers of this review to try more and more Japanese food. My experience of Fuji was pretty exotic. I have liked Sushi Oke and Wasabee too, but Fuji was better. They have more variety, and the ambience is nice too. The interior is tastefully done. Service is quiet, unassuming, yet warm and helpful when needed. The waitresses walk past you, daintily, like neat little geishas - very cute indeed. Heres what I ordered: Shake no Teriyaki Shioyaki - broiled salmon braised in teriyaki sauce Yaki Udon - wheat noodles pan sauteed with chicken and assorted veggies in japanese sauce Chicken Syoyu Ramen - hot ramen noodles cooked in chicken and soy based stock, served with boiled egg and steamed chicken Service was prompt and the plating was done temptingly. The salmon was wonderfully done with mild saucy flavors, placed delicately on a bed of shredded salad. The udon was awesome too. The ramen was good I would say, but the other two took the cake. The sweet corn was a let down in the ramen broth. Pocket pinch was a tad on the higher side, 2000 for 2 people, and there is no wine list as yet. They are still waiting on the license. Now coming back to Jap food. I have seen tons of people going ga-ga over Chinese but not trying Jap at all, maybe because they are too tired to explore or maybe they newness bogs them down. I dont have a personal food blog, or I would have posted this entry titled An Idiots Guide To Japanese Dining. A Zomato Review may not be the most suitable platform, however I think I would take the liberty and go ahead and write a bit more about basic Japanese cuisine - in the hope that more and more people will take interest in it :) Heres a list of common culinary terms that may be of help to the ubiquitous city diner: Types of Rice Dishes: 1. Gohan - steamed rice set meal, usually with egg topping 2. Chahan/Yaki Meshi - sauteed japanese sticky rice / fried rice 3. Don/Donburi - Donburi is a Japanese rice bowl dish consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice. Donburi meals are served in oversized rice bowls also called donburi. Common Sauces / Seasonings: 1. Itame - green coconut milk base 2. Dengaku - miso paste 3. Goma-ae - sesame 4. Shira-ae - soy bean curd 5. Teriyaki - mix of soy, rice wine and sugar 6. Shougayaki - ginger sauce 7. Ponzu - citrus soy sauce 8. Wasabi - Pungent japanese horseradish sauce Cooking Styles: 1. Katsu / Tonkatsu - deep fried cutlet (usually pork with Tonkatsu sauce) 2. Mushi - steamed 3. Yaki/Teriyaki - sautéed / grilled 4. Gyoza - dumplings 5. Tempura - batter fried 6. Kakiage - shredded 7. Kushiage - deep fried with breadcrumb on skewer Meats and Fishes: 1. Kaisen - sliced assorted raw fish 2. Kaisou - assorted sea weed 3. Maguro - tuna fish 4. Buta - pork 5. Ebi - prawn 6. Tori - chicken 7. Yasai - shredded seasonal veggies 8. Yako - octopus 9. Ika - squid / cuttle fish 10. Suzuki - sea bass 11. Tamago = omelet Types of Noodles: 1. Ramen - Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth. 2. Udon - Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle of Japanese cuisine. Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup. 3. Soba - Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle. 4. Somen - Sōmen are very thin—less than 1.3 mm in diameter—white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. The noodle is usually served cold. Sushi / Sashimi Terminology: 1. Shu/Sashimi- A Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces 2. Sushi - A Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, seafood, vegetables and sometimes tropical fruits 3. Nori - Nori is the Japanese name for edible seaweed 4. Maki Sushi- Rolled sushi 5. Nigiri Sushi - Hand-pressed sushi, tied with nori 6. Inari Sushi - Sushi rice filled in fried tofu pockets 7. Chirashi Sushi - Assorted raw fish in a bed of sushi rice 8. Temaki Sushi - Nori cones filled with rice and fish or other stuff 9. Temari Sushi - Small ball- shaped sushi with toppings So, you can use this list as a handy guide, its easy to use, say for instance yakitori is yaki + tori = grilled + chicken...and so on. You can use this to decode most Japanese menus in Kolkata :) So happy Jap Dining to you!
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 08:09:31 +0000
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