When I thought no more culinary genius could come out of Japan, there was Okonomiyaki.
Celebrating that Miss Ukraine had finally returned to the Land of the Living after handing in her dissertation, we went to sample this mysterious yet delicious dish served at a lovely little Soho venue.
Great service can really make or break any establishment, be it Michelin starred gourmet restaurants in Paris or a Hong Kong hole-in-the-wall. Because of this, I took a liking to this place as soon as I sat down next to Miss Ukraine who had in exactly five minutes of being there been befriended by the chef.
Said chef was in all fairness quite easy to befriend and also had the patience of a god damn saint, putting up with my one million questions on the detailed history of Okonomiyaki, all the different types of Okonomiyaki and the specific background as to how a white English guy chooses Okonomiyaki as a full time profession. Not even my own parents have ever dealt with my questions for that long.
If you google Okonomiyaki it will tell you it's a Japanese pizza, which clearly indicates that there are people in the world who have never had pizza. Some will say it's like a pancake, and a brunch expert like me can promise that is not the case. Closest thing to it in the Western World I'd say is an omelette. Only with cabbage and extra everything. And by everything I mean everything. Everything as in pork, mushrooms, prawns, lotus roots, some type of beef and three different sauces on top of each layer of the Japanese omelette tower.
Whilst waiting for all of the layers to finish up, there was the sake menu to tie us over. It was bigger than the food menu. My kind of place this is.
After a giant wooden glass of sake, the omelette tower was good and ready to be ruined. It was the closest to smashing sand castles a grown up can get without making a small child cry. On top of all the fun I was having destroying it, it tasted yummy. Whilst I initially suspected it may be too much even for an extra side dish junkie like me, it all went together perfectly and I will definitely be having Okonomiyaki again soon. Especially if the lovely chef who puts up with my nonsense and gets me my drink before I can say sake to me is there.
Who would have known cabbage and eggs could be so tasty?
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| This guy knew how to pour sake! |
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| How to drink a cup full of sake. |
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| Layer non-pancake |
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| Every single side possible. |
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| A topping or two! |
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| And some toppins on the toppings. |
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