Tarumi

I feel very privileged to have been able to eat here and we wouldn’t have been able to find this place and taste all these lovely dishes without our Japanese friend. We left our dinner in her hands as she ordered plate after plate, and she certainly didn’t let us down. First came the beautiful sashimi; I especially enjoyed the raw shrimp heads and ‘crunchy’ clam. And then the fried tiny shrimps! They were wonderfully crispy and light; I could have eaten three more baskets of them. One of my favourites was a generously thick roll of tamagoyaki which had a light, fluffy texture and was perfectly seasoned. Or was my favourite the two plates of tempura with anago, maitake mushroom (WOW), and shiso leaf? Like the shrimps, they were fried to perfection with a light crispy batter. At last we were presented with their specialty; Ise udon. It is a very thickly-​cut type of udon which is cooked until very soft. Our friend informed us that it was a popular choice for people who were exhausted after visiting a shrine; both effortless to eat and good for digestion. It was served in a bit of very dark broth and felt like eating a cloud. A very delicious cloud.
There was a little pot of tender braised pork, some snails, and we started with a small dish of cucumber and gooey yam; these were not bad in any way; just not as amazing as the rest of the excellent meal. The service was very good and it was easy to see that the place was full of rosy-​cheeked, happy locals who knew the score. If you do not speak Japanese or have someone with you who can, you may not get to enjoy this traditional place as much as I did. There is no English menu and you must take off your shoes before sitting in the areas with a mat. But if you do have the power of Japanese, I highly recommend that you visit this place!