I had the great fortune of visiting Japanika for lunch today. This is a wonderful, small Japanese takeaway down Hanbury Street between Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market. It is a little off the beaten track but most definitely worth the visit!
You are spoilt for choice with the selection of food on offer including gyoza, karaage, teriyaki, pork tonkatsu curry on rice, salads and vegetable dishes as well as sushi.
Presentation and quality of cooking is excellent maintaining the Japanese belief of feasting with your eyes. I only wish I had had a camera with me! I had a french bean and inari sushi strip salad – the beans had been cooked to perfection so they were still fresh and crunchy. The ohitashi steamed spinach was beautifully presented and served with a lovely sesame and ponzu sauce.
Their sushi boxes are great value too; the most expensive £6.95 box has 6 different nigiri plus 6 pieces of maki sushi. All of the sushi is freshly made and you can tell by the quality of the rice – there is none of the cold, dry, chewy rice here due to the quick turnover of sushi on the shelves. The shelves are constantly restocked throughout lunchtime to meet demand and it shows as the pieces of sushi just melt in your mouth.
I only wish that I worked closer as I could imagine eating their every day!
今日、今までロンドンで食べてきた一番おいしい昼ごはんを食べました。Brick LaneとSpitalfields Marketの間にあるJapanikaという小さいテークアウェイはおいしそうな食べ物がいっぱいあります。寿司だけじゃなくて、ホウレンソウのお浸し・枝豆・餃子・から揚げ・照り焼き・豚カツカレー丼もあります。
ホウレンソウのお浸しはゴマポン酢ソース付きで、おいしかったです。または、莢隠元といなりずしのサラダが歯ごたえがあって、一番おいしかったです。
お寿司の鮮度もいいです。作ったばかりの物しか置いていないので、舎利がまだ温かくて、口の中で溶けます。
もっと近くに働けば、毎日Japanikaの食べ物を食べたいぐらいのおいしさを試しに行きませんか。
Sarah Wedgbury Consulting 