viehcle
About five years ago, I had the opportunity to dine at Ginpei in Shinsaibashi, where I found the simmered fish surprisingly delicious. So, when I was looking for a similar restaurant in Umeda, I thought Rokkon might be similar to Ginpei and decided to give it a try. I remembered that Ginpei in Shinsaibashi had quite a few waiting customers, so I made a reservation by phone two days in advance. On the day of our visit, we arrived at the restaurant a little after 11:30 am, and there were already about three groups of waiting customers. We had made a reservation for 11:45 am, so I informed the staff about it and waited for our table to be prepared. When we entered, we ordered the chef's special set meal. Since it was just after opening, the serving staff seemed a bit rushed and it took about 5 minutes before we were seated. Once seated, the dishes were served promptly. In the order they arrived:
- Tofu: Handmade tofu with a hint of warmth, served with mustard. Smooth and just the right firmness, a perfect starter in terms of portion size.
- Tempura: White fish, shrimp wrapped in shiso leaves, eggplant, onion, sweet potato - all five types. Lightly salted and fried, using fresh ingredients that could also be used for sashimi.
- Sashimi: 2 slices of sea bream, 2 slices of bonito, 1 slice of yellowtail, 1 slice of squid, 1 piece of yam. Perfect portion size, visually appealing, and high freshness.
- Simmered fish: The main dish of the day was simmered sea bream with pickled plum. The broth paired perfectly with rice, leaving a desire to know how it was made.
- Soup: Miso soup with hot spring egg, enoki mushrooms, and a bit of somen noodles. Very gentle and comforting flavor, slightly warm due to the hot spring egg.
- Pickles: Lightly pickled Chinese cabbage, drizzled with soy sauce. Can be enjoyed as a salad as well. Served with rice, which was refillable. I opted for about 1/3 extra rice.
The chef's special set meal was satisfying without feeling too full. The price was 2200 yen, which is considered reasonable for the quality and quantity of the meal. They recently increased their prices due to high costs, but it still offers great value. For a regular lunch, the 1300 yen simmered fish set meal would be a good choice. I look forward to trying that next time.