this post is filed under Cuisine - Japanese, Location - Japan
For years, my dad has been telling about this legendary omurice he has sometimes in Tokyo. A pretty typical Japanese dish, omurice is basically an omelet with fried rice inside. People make it at home and casual restaurants serve it regularly. You can find it at some places in the US too. At domPierre in Kyobashi (their site is only in Japanese - here's the ghetto Babelfish translation), they serve a special version of omurice using Matsuzaka beef, an ultra high grade of Japanese cattle. It's not as well known as Kobe, but it's easily comparable, if not better. The restaurant itself is a very small, simple place serving a mix of Western dishes, curries, and rice dishes. domPierre's varied yet surprisingly small menu is the type East-West product I would only expect to find in Japan - they have curry, omurice, escargots, foie gras, and grilled fish, among other things. The setting and service are decidedly Western, though. Although a lot of stuff on the menu sounded pretty interesting, I was there to eat Matsuzaka omelet rice.
Note that the omelet rice is only available AFTER 1pm, Monday-Friday. My dad said he once asked them why such a strange rule, and the answer was something about limited kitchen space during the lunch rush (I guess it takes all the burners to make the omelet rice).
fried croquette with creamy gratin and crabmeat - ¥950
I gasped in horror thinking that my beautiful appetizer had been tainted by ketchup, but luckily the red sauce is actually Real Tomato Sauce. The croquette was wonderfully crisp on the outside, and extremely rich and creamy on the inside. The amount of actual crabmeat was surprisingly adequate too, giving the cream a nice flavor.
fried rice and Matsuzaka beef omelet with soy sauce - ¥2,625
Here: the omurice in all its glory. I'm putting up the cut-open shot so you can see some of its delicious insides. Keep in mind that ¥2,625 (about US$25) is pretty obscenely expensive for omelet rice, which usually runs for a couple bucks. It's worth it though. The beef is marbled and tender, and there is actually a ton of it inside. A typical omurice uses, for example, chicken fried rice, and has a dollop of ketchup on top, which is really gross to me. This version eschews the ketchup in favor of a light soy mixed with oily goodness from the Matsuzaka beef. The result is a very well-executed fried rice, buttery meat, and a perfectly cooked casing of scrambled egg. This is, without a doubt, some of the best fried rice I've ever tried.
domPierre is sure to become a regular lunch stop for all my future trips to Tokyo (let's hope there are many). It's in a convenient spot just near the main Ginza strip. I've also since heard their curry is pretty famous, so I wouldn't mind trying it, but it'll be hard not to order the omurice again.
"...As for the United States Koshihikari of the Niigata prefecture fish swamp Gun product..."
I cannot understand the translation of their web site.
I dont eat gun product. Do you eat?
posted by babyfishtranslation on August 3, 2006 01:58 AM
Hey Arthur, you ever gonna update bro??????? Come on, I need an arthurhungry fix.
posted by Taz on August 10, 2006 01:29 AM
Update please!!!
posted by Michael on August 12, 2006 12:54 AM
yes, i agree. me so hungry
posted by duke on August 15, 2006 07:08 PM
Affah = lazy bum
posted by Bart on August 16, 2006 04:53 PM
Hope everything is ok. You never take this long to update Arthur.
posted by Taz on August 16, 2006 11:50 PM
Sorry guys - I'm still here. Just been vegetating for the past couple of weeks. The next post is big and I've been too lazy to tackle it... :P
posted by Arthur on August 18, 2006 06:55 PM