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- Taste Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki in the US!
Japanese Sake : All Japan News,Inc
https://jp.bloguru.com/JapaneseSake_AllJapanNews
自己紹介
By All Japan News,Inc
Yuji Matsumoto
Master Sake Sommelier
Finalist of the 2nd World Sake Sommelier Competition. Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science. Worked for Nomura Securities for 10 years. Former president of California Sushi Academy Former chief of planning dept. at Mutual Trading. Currently working for Kabuki Restaurant Corp. as a Beverage Manager of Sake.
Kosuke Kuji
Fifth Generation / Brewery Owner
Nanbu Bijin, Inc.
Born May 11, 1972. Entered Tokyo University of Agriculture's Department of Brewing and Fermentation. In 2005 became the youngest person ever to receive the Iwate Prefecture Young Distinguished Technician Award. In 2006 was selected to be a member of the board of trustees of his local alma mater, Fukuoka High School. Currently is featured in a number of media outlets including magazines, radio, and television.
*Positions of Public Service: Chairperson, Cassiopeia Corporation Youth Conference; School Board Member, Fukuoka High School, Iwate Prefecture, Vice-Chairman, Technology Committee, Iwate Prefecture Brewers and Distillers' Association.
Ayaka Ito
Owner of BESHOCK Ramen Sake Bar
Born in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. Started going abroad including the US, Canada, and South Korea to study and deepen knowledge while still in high-school. Encountered with Japanese sake in Tohoku, while being involved in a long-term volunteering activity for the Great East Japan Earthquake. Sake of Miyagi, a famous region for sake making, was so impressive- ”I didn’t know such delicious domestic sake existed in Japan!” BESHOCK was opened in San Diego to let the world know the goodness of Japanese sake and Japanese cuisine for a responsibility as a specialist/Sake sommelier.
Ryuji Takahashi
Regional Sake Specialty Store "Ji Sakeya" Owner, Master Sake Sommelier, Shuto-Meijin, and the charismatic guru of ordinary sake.
Plans and manages events and seminars with his own unique flare to introduce the appeal of Japanese sake and cuisine, unaffected by the latest trends, while managing a jizake retail store.
David Kudo
Sake Sommelier
Master Sake Sommelier
President, All Japan News Inc.
Born Kita-Akita City, Akita Prefecture. Took over as Executive Officer of the Japanese Food Trend News founded in 1991, when the predecessor was assigned back to Japan. Currently distributed as Japan Restaurant News (20,000 issues published electronically) in North America, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
最新コメント
Taste Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki in the US!
By Keiko Fukuda
Okonomiyaki restaurant, Chinchikurin, stands in front of the Yagura of Japanese Village, the symbol of Little Tokyo. Teppan-yaki tables are laid out in an orderly way in a large space, and their kitchen is an open style. If you get seated at the counter, you can watch Okonomiyaki being made by chefs in front of you.
“Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is difficult to make because it requires one to make many layers, therefore, although a teppan is installed for each table, we don’t ask customers to cook at the table. Instead, we deliver Okonomiyaki cooked by a chef in the kitchen to the teppan, so the customer can eat while it is still hot,” explains Tsuyoshi Sahara, the manager. Mr. Sahara is from Hiroshima. His family had a teppan at home when he was little, and it was his father, who didn’t usually cook, who took the responsibility whenever Okonomiyaki was chosen for dinner.
The Chinchikurin chain was founded in 1999 in Hiroshima which Mr. Sahara is also from. The chain has developed 10 locations in Hiroshima, and 3 locations in Tokyo as restaurants which offer various izakaya style menus that contain mainly Okonomiyaki and Teppanyaki items. The first overseas location was in the Sawtelle District of West Los Angeles, which opened in January of 2017. The Little Tokyo location opened in March of 2018 after a strong determination of success was felt at the Sawtelle location.
There have been Osaka style Okonomiyaki restaurants in the US; however, there was no place where you could eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. What is the difference between the Osaka style and the Hiroshima style? As mentioned earlier, Hiroshima style has many layers. The Chinchikurin menu explains that in an easy-to-understand way with an illustration. First comes the dough, then fish powder, shredded cabbage, tenkasu (fried tempura batter crumbs), bean sprouts, pork belly slices, soba, eggs, sauce, and dried seaweed flakes are piled on top of each other, pressed down, and grilled, one by one in order. When you take a bite of a piping hot piece, it feels like those ingredients are trying to make an impression in your mouth with each of their tastes and textures.
The most popular menu item is the Chinchikurin yaki ($17.00). It is a signature item in Japan, which is called “Shoburiyaki” in Japan. Boneless short rib of beef is used in Japan, but in the US, ground beef is used for easier acceptance by Americans. On the interview day, I tried the second most popular item, “The Loaded Kaisen ($18.50)”. In addition to the basic ingredients such as cabbage, soba, and eggs, it had plenty of seafood such as shrimp and sliced squid on top.
It is a very satisfying and luxurious menu item both visually and volume wise.
What is indispensable to complete the piece is Hiroshima’s Otafuku brand sauce. This sauce is produced locally at the Otafuku sauce factory in a Los Angeles suburb.
Menu items such as Basil Cheese and Broccoli Shrimp Yaki are unique to the American market. There are 8 kinds in Okonomiyaki alone, and one for vegetarians has been added newly to respond to many requests from the Los Angeles area. There is no need to say that no meat is used for this piece, but even no eggs or fish powder are used. In addition to the Okonomiyaki menu, you can also order Hiroshima style tsukemen and soup-less tantanmen. They are planning to add more appetizers and desserts. Most of their customers are non-Japanese.
What do they do to secure the number of customers? “We don’t use prints or other media advertisements much.
As for the Little Tokyo location, the huge glass windows facing the street is the key, I think. It seems that people get curious watching people inside eating an unfamiliar-looking food in front of an iron grill. We also try to maintain a cheerful ambience of the restaurant at all times.
We train our staff to serve customers cheerfully and as loudly as possible,” says the manager Sahara. As the result of such efforts, the restaurant has become so popular that on weekends, people wait in line in front of the restaurant. They sometimes serve as many as 500 people a day. The 3rd US location is being planned to open soon in Torrance (this information is as of December of 2018).
Such a day may be near that you can eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki anywhere in the US.
広島のお好み焼きをアメリカで
リトルトーキョーのシンボル、ジャパニーズビレッジプラザに建つ火の見櫓の正面に店を構えるのが、お好み焼きのちんちくりん。広々とした店内には鉄板焼きテーブルが配置され、キッチンはオープンスタイル。カウンターに陣取れば、お好み焼きをシェフが焼く過程を目の前で見ることができる。
「広島のお好み焼きは何層にもレイヤーが分かれていて、作るのが難しいんです。だから、テーブルに鉄板にあってもお客様に作っていただくのではなく、キッチンでシェフが焼いたお好み焼きをテーブルに移動させて、それを温かい状態で食べていただくための鉄板です」と説明してくれたのは、マネージャーの佐原毅（ルビ：さはらつよし）さん。広島市出身の佐原さんも物心ついた時から家庭には鉄板があり、お好み焼きの日には普段料理をしない父親が腕を振るったそうだ。
さて、ちんちくりんは佐原さんの地元でもある広島で1999年に創業された。お好み焼き、鉄板焼きを中心に多数の居酒屋メニューを揃えた店として、広島に10店舗、東京に3店舗展開している。海外１号店は、2017年1月にオープンしたウエストロサンゼルスのソーテル店。リトルトーキョー店はソーテルで確かな手応えを得た後の2018年3月に店を開けた。
アメリカにはこれまで大阪のお好み焼きの店はあったが、広島のお好み焼きを食べられる店はなかった。大阪スタイルとは何が違うのかと言うと、前述のように、何層も分かれているのが広島のお好み焼きだ。ちんちくりんのメニューに、それがわかりやすく図説されている。まず、生地があり、その上にフィッシュパウダー、キャベツ、天かす、もやし、豚バラ、そば、卵、ソース、さらに青のりと、順番に重ねて押さえて焼き上げる。熱々をいただくと、それぞれの具材の食感が口の中で主張する印象だ。
同店で一番人気のメニューは、ちんちくりん焼き（$17.00）。日本では「しょぶり焼き」と称される看板メニューで、本来であれば牛肉の中落ちを使うそうだが、アメリカではより受け入れやすいように牛ひき肉を使用。そして取材当日、試食したのは２番人気の海鮮スペシャル（The Loaded Kaisen, $18.50）だった。キャベツやそば、卵などのベーシックな具材以外に、エビ、イカが豊富にトッピングされている。見た目にもボリューム的にも豪華で満足度が高い一品。仕上げに欠かせないのが、広島のオタフクソースの存在だ。ロサンゼルス郊外のオタフクソースの現地工場で生産されているものだ。
メニューには。バジルチーズ焼き、ブロッコリーシュリンプなどアメリカならではと思わせるユニークなものも見られる。お好み焼きだけで8種類、さらに、ロサンゼルスでの要望が多いことがわかって、新しく加えたのがベジタリアン向けのお好み焼き。肉はもちろん、卵、フィッシュパウダーも使っていない。
お好み焼き以外にも、広島スタイルのつけ麺と汁無し担々麺も食べられる。また、今後はアペタイザーやデザートも増やしていく意向だ。
顧客はほぼ非日系で占められる。顧客を確保するためにどのような努力をしているのだろうか？「広告や宣伝はあまり利用していません。まず、リトルトーキョー店に関しては、通りに面したガラス張りの作りが大きな武器になっていると思います。鉄板を前に店内にお客様が、あまり見たことがない料理を食べている光景が興味をひくようです。また、店の雰囲気を常に明るくするように努めています。スタッフにも、できるだけ大きな声を出して接客するようにトレーニングをしています」。
こうした努力の末に、週末になると店の前には行列ができるまでになった。１日の来客数が500人に達することもある。近くアメリカ３店舗目のトーランス店も開店予定（取材した2018年12月時点）。広島のお好み焼きが全米各地で食べられるようになる日も近いかもしれない。
Chinchikurin
350 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-0480
http://www.chinchikurin-usa.com
11:30am-2:00pm, and 5:00pm-11:00pm
Closed on Tuesday
Okonomiyaki restaurant, Chinchikurin, stands in front of the Yagura of Japanese Village, the symbol of Little Tokyo. Teppan-yaki tables are laid out in an orderly way in a large space, and their kitchen is an open style. If you get seated at the counter, you can watch Okonomiyaki being made by chefs in front of you.
“Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki is difficult to make because it requires one to make many layers, therefore, although a teppan is installed for each table, we don’t ask customers to cook at the table. Instead, we deliver Okonomiyaki cooked by a chef in the kitchen to the teppan, so the customer can eat while it is still hot,” explains Tsuyoshi Sahara, the manager. Mr. Sahara is from Hiroshima. His family had a teppan at home when he was little, and it was his father, who didn’t usually cook, who took the responsibility whenever Okonomiyaki was chosen for dinner.
The Chinchikurin chain was founded in 1999 in Hiroshima which Mr. Sahara is also from. The chain has developed 10 locations in Hiroshima, and 3 locations in Tokyo as restaurants which offer various izakaya style menus that contain mainly Okonomiyaki and Teppanyaki items. The first overseas location was in the Sawtelle District of West Los Angeles, which opened in January of 2017. The Little Tokyo location opened in March of 2018 after a strong determination of success was felt at the Sawtelle location.
There have been Osaka style Okonomiyaki restaurants in the US; however, there was no place where you could eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. What is the difference between the Osaka style and the Hiroshima style? As mentioned earlier, Hiroshima style has many layers. The Chinchikurin menu explains that in an easy-to-understand way with an illustration. First comes the dough, then fish powder, shredded cabbage, tenkasu (fried tempura batter crumbs), bean sprouts, pork belly slices, soba, eggs, sauce, and dried seaweed flakes are piled on top of each other, pressed down, and grilled, one by one in order. When you take a bite of a piping hot piece, it feels like those ingredients are trying to make an impression in your mouth with each of their tastes and textures.
The most popular menu item is the Chinchikurin yaki ($17.00). It is a signature item in Japan, which is called “Shoburiyaki” in Japan. Boneless short rib of beef is used in Japan, but in the US, ground beef is used for easier acceptance by Americans. On the interview day, I tried the second most popular item, “The Loaded Kaisen ($18.50)”. In addition to the basic ingredients such as cabbage, soba, and eggs, it had plenty of seafood such as shrimp and sliced squid on top.
It is a very satisfying and luxurious menu item both visually and volume wise.
What is indispensable to complete the piece is Hiroshima’s Otafuku brand sauce. This sauce is produced locally at the Otafuku sauce factory in a Los Angeles suburb.
Menu items such as Basil Cheese and Broccoli Shrimp Yaki are unique to the American market. There are 8 kinds in Okonomiyaki alone, and one for vegetarians has been added newly to respond to many requests from the Los Angeles area. There is no need to say that no meat is used for this piece, but even no eggs or fish powder are used. In addition to the Okonomiyaki menu, you can also order Hiroshima style tsukemen and soup-less tantanmen. They are planning to add more appetizers and desserts. Most of their customers are non-Japanese.
What do they do to secure the number of customers? “We don’t use prints or other media advertisements much.
As for the Little Tokyo location, the huge glass windows facing the street is the key, I think. It seems that people get curious watching people inside eating an unfamiliar-looking food in front of an iron grill. We also try to maintain a cheerful ambience of the restaurant at all times.
We train our staff to serve customers cheerfully and as loudly as possible,” says the manager Sahara. As the result of such efforts, the restaurant has become so popular that on weekends, people wait in line in front of the restaurant. They sometimes serve as many as 500 people a day. The 3rd US location is being planned to open soon in Torrance (this information is as of December of 2018).
Such a day may be near that you can eat Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki anywhere in the US.
広島のお好み焼きをアメリカで
リトルトーキョーのシンボル、ジャパニーズビレッジプラザに建つ火の見櫓の正面に店を構えるのが、お好み焼きのちんちくりん。広々とした店内には鉄板焼きテーブルが配置され、キッチンはオープンスタイル。カウンターに陣取れば、お好み焼きをシェフが焼く過程を目の前で見ることができる。
「広島のお好み焼きは何層にもレイヤーが分かれていて、作るのが難しいんです。だから、テーブルに鉄板にあってもお客様に作っていただくのではなく、キッチンでシェフが焼いたお好み焼きをテーブルに移動させて、それを温かい状態で食べていただくための鉄板です」と説明してくれたのは、マネージャーの佐原毅（ルビ：さはらつよし）さん。広島市出身の佐原さんも物心ついた時から家庭には鉄板があり、お好み焼きの日には普段料理をしない父親が腕を振るったそうだ。
さて、ちんちくりんは佐原さんの地元でもある広島で1999年に創業された。お好み焼き、鉄板焼きを中心に多数の居酒屋メニューを揃えた店として、広島に10店舗、東京に3店舗展開している。海外１号店は、2017年1月にオープンしたウエストロサンゼルスのソーテル店。リトルトーキョー店はソーテルで確かな手応えを得た後の2018年3月に店を開けた。
アメリカにはこれまで大阪のお好み焼きの店はあったが、広島のお好み焼きを食べられる店はなかった。大阪スタイルとは何が違うのかと言うと、前述のように、何層も分かれているのが広島のお好み焼きだ。ちんちくりんのメニューに、それがわかりやすく図説されている。まず、生地があり、その上にフィッシュパウダー、キャベツ、天かす、もやし、豚バラ、そば、卵、ソース、さらに青のりと、順番に重ねて押さえて焼き上げる。熱々をいただくと、それぞれの具材の食感が口の中で主張する印象だ。
同店で一番人気のメニューは、ちんちくりん焼き（$17.00）。日本では「しょぶり焼き」と称される看板メニューで、本来であれば牛肉の中落ちを使うそうだが、アメリカではより受け入れやすいように牛ひき肉を使用。そして取材当日、試食したのは２番人気の海鮮スペシャル（The Loaded Kaisen, $18.50）だった。キャベツやそば、卵などのベーシックな具材以外に、エビ、イカが豊富にトッピングされている。見た目にもボリューム的にも豪華で満足度が高い一品。仕上げに欠かせないのが、広島のオタフクソースの存在だ。ロサンゼルス郊外のオタフクソースの現地工場で生産されているものだ。
メニューには。バジルチーズ焼き、ブロッコリーシュリンプなどアメリカならではと思わせるユニークなものも見られる。お好み焼きだけで8種類、さらに、ロサンゼルスでの要望が多いことがわかって、新しく加えたのがベジタリアン向けのお好み焼き。肉はもちろん、卵、フィッシュパウダーも使っていない。
お好み焼き以外にも、広島スタイルのつけ麺と汁無し担々麺も食べられる。また、今後はアペタイザーやデザートも増やしていく意向だ。
顧客はほぼ非日系で占められる。顧客を確保するためにどのような努力をしているのだろうか？「広告や宣伝はあまり利用していません。まず、リトルトーキョー店に関しては、通りに面したガラス張りの作りが大きな武器になっていると思います。鉄板を前に店内にお客様が、あまり見たことがない料理を食べている光景が興味をひくようです。また、店の雰囲気を常に明るくするように努めています。スタッフにも、できるだけ大きな声を出して接客するようにトレーニングをしています」。
こうした努力の末に、週末になると店の前には行列ができるまでになった。１日の来客数が500人に達することもある。近くアメリカ３店舗目のトーランス店も開店予定（取材した2018年12月時点）。広島のお好み焼きが全米各地で食べられるようになる日も近いかもしれない。
Chinchikurin
350 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-0480
http://www.chinchikurin-usa.com
11:30am-2:00pm, and 5:00pm-11:00pm
Closed on Tuesday
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