Excitement and a satisfied tummy are certainly what Korean BBQ restaurants can offer all around Tokyo. But barbecued beef and kimchi are not the only things people eat on the Korean peninsula. While spicy food may give you a rush, this organic restaurant gives you more down-to-earth, healthy fulfillment.
It’s Korean home cooking, rapidly giving way to hamburgers in its homeland but gaining popularity in New York. Traditional Korean food is now ready to challenge the genre’s established image in Japan. Organic doesn’t mean stoic and boring. You can appreciate yet fully enjoy it at the same time.
It goes back to 10 years ago, when owner Mitsuo Toyama was working at Ju-Ju, the Korean BBQ restaurant at Nishi-Azabu crossing. He was eager to expand business with the restaurant’s herbal dishes. Now, with the entire populace seemingly obsessed with health, Toyama’s staff are all optimistic about their restaurant, which just opened in September.
Recommended is Zassouya’s vegetarian course, ¥4,300, is made from organically grown veggies from Korea. Begin with a 100-year-longevity liqueur as an aperitif, which is said to produce no hang-over.
Proceed with the porridge with pumpkin and other seasonal vegetables. Then follow with kimchi soup or namru. Spicy or not, they are all filling and tasty.
The colorfully decorated zucchini tempuras with sesame seeds or Korean tofu that resembles vanilla ice cream are even picturesque. The mineral water from Korea’s mountains, similar to French Perrier, is used to cook the traditional, herbal rice in a pot to top it all off.
If vegetarian dishes are not enough, a variety of optional dishes are provided, ranging from liver sashimi that just melts in your mouth to stir-fried pork & veggies that are almost Chinese. Even the desserts are health-oriented. Their cheesecake is made with tofu. Match that with a nice, hot cup of herbal tea with rice grains swimming around.
These foods may be exotic but somehow touch you with a sense of home, surrounded by herb plants and bric-a-brac brought in from Seoul. And the food is like that Korean moms have made for their kids over the centuries.
Berte Plaza B1,
4-1-15 Minami-Aoyama,
Minato-ku
Tel: 5410-0317 |
