腹黒亭みやび
The other day, I received a LINE message from my daughter who is about to become a high school student saying, "I want to eat hitsumabushi." It's heartwarming that she still relies on her old man even at that age. So, I carefully researched for a restaurant that accepts reservations and, of course, looks delicious. After some investigation, I found that most popular restaurants in Tokyo do not accept reservations, except for one that can be booked online. The name of that restaurant was "Unagi Charcoal Grill Hitsumabushi Minokana." I arrived at the restaurant at 11:30, but the sign at the entrance still said "Preparing." However, since there seemed to be other customers inside, I opened the door and it seemed like they were open for business. I informed the staff that the sign still said "Preparing" and was guided to the counter seat I had reserved. First, I read the menu and placed my order using my smartphone, as is the ordering method at this restaurant. I ordered hitsumabushi (large), grilled eel liver, Asahi Super Dry bottled beer (medium), and orange juice. About 8 minutes after pressing the send button, the bottled beer arrived. However, the orange juice did not come, so I reminded the staff. After some hustle and bustle, they finally brought it. Now, the eel bone senbei, fried eel bones, served as a snack with the bottled beer. I had my daughter, who is quite picky, try it, and fortunately, she liked it. She enjoyed the fried eel bones as a snack with her orange juice. Then, hitsumabushi was served about 20 minutes after ordering. Ah, I'm glad I ordered the large size for the generous amount of eel. I immediately started eating following the instructions on the table. Oh, it's delicious here. The eel meat with a moderate thickness was not overly soft, and the outside was crispy and fragrant from being grilled, giving it a very nice texture. The eel sauce was not too sweet and had no strong taste, which was good. Thanks to that, my daughter next to me was also impressed. I was relieved to see her enjoying it. After a while, the grilled eel liver arrived. I offered it to my daughter, but she refused. She said she doesn't like liver or internal organs... Well, that's good. You don't seem to be becoming a heavy drinker in the future. The moderate bitterness of the liver and the sweetness of the sauce were a perfect match. The beer quickly disappeared. Now, the side dishes on the tray were pickles, Nara pickles, rolled omelette with dashi, and clear soup. These side dishes worked well to enhance the taste of the main hitsumabushi and reset the taste in the mouth. By the time we were about to finish with ochazuke, our stomachs were quite full. We put the remaining eel and rice in a teacup, poured in the soup, and slurped it all up. Even my daughter, who eats little, managed to finish it. As expected, she left the Nara pickles uneaten. Thanks to that, both parents and children were very satisfied. After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, the sign was still at "Preparing." I felt that there might be some operational issues inside the restaurant, but it might actually be true. Well, it was delicious, so that's fine. Thank you for the meal. Tabelog rating 3.39 (as of July 29, 2023) #Inaricho #InarichoGourmet #Eel #Hitsumabushi #Minokana #OnlineReservationsAvailable #SmartphoneOrdering #HustleAndBustleInsideTheRestaurant #ShortStaffed #It'sThatKindOfEra