mikawa

Sukiyabashi Jiro wouldn’t let me in for sushi (for those of you that have seen the documentary), so I walked a couple of doors down to Tempura Mikawa. The food was so good that it was worthy of a video. Watch the video here:
The ingredients are as fresh as they can be. In fact, the shrimp are still alive and kickin’ right before they’re dipped in tempura and fried to perfection.
I sat at the bar and was thoroughly entertained as I watched the chef prepare each item on the menu and then serve it up one by one to my plate. I wasn’t sure, on some items, if I was supposed to use salt or tempura sauce and the chef was always quick to recommend which choice to make.
My favorite was the simple freshness of the shrimp, the texture and flavor of the tempura, and the squid/​calamari that was so tender. One of the highlights at the end of the meal was the small scallop patty on rice. The mini scallops were so tasty and I was tempted, at the very end, to be an idiot and lick my rice bowl. I refrained.
I’m not a big fan of sea urchin or ginkgo nut, but they were prepared very carefully here. I really enjoyed the flavor and texture of both of these dishes.
The cost is certainly not typical for tempura, but I found that through the experience I had along with the amount of detail and preparation that went into my customized meal, I thought it was worth every penny. I was sad that I didn’t have my wife with me today. She totally missed out.
Next time I’m in Tokyo, I’ll probably try for sushi from Sukiyabashi Jiro again. If it doesn’t work out (again), I’ll happily walk a few steps to sit down at Tempura Mikawa (again).
My simple concept of tempura was destroyed today… in a very good way.
D. Didericksen

Dinner at Mikawa was the most enjoyable meal during my two-​week stay in Japan.
Prior to Mikawa, my only experience with tempura was the batter-​heavy and grease-​laden pre-​frozen shrimp variety commonly found at Japanese restaurants in the US, so I thought I would feel pretty gross after nine courses of deep fried tempura dishes. Surprisingly, that was not the case with Mikawa; their skillful preparation with the use of quality ingredients made for a tempura experience like no other. The tempura was surprising light, not at all greasy, but still delicately crispy.
According to the chef, fresh seafood is brought in every day from Tsukiji Market. This was apparent as the shrimp was prepared live, still wiggling as it hit the fryer. The shrimp was sweet and juicy and the atama was phenomenal. Other standouts include the buttery and sweet milky soft ika, delightfully crunchy and fun to eat noresore (seasonal baby conger eel), uni with shiso, and the anago. I usually stay away from seafood and I never would have ordered most of the items in the Mikawa omakase meal, but every single seafood course was fantastic, prepared perfectly, and not at all fishy.
Like most Japanese establishments, service was excellent and the attention to detail was above and beyond with subtle nuances of passive aggressive discrimination; we noticed that non-​Japanese customers were served a different course than Japanese customers, but heck, I was more than satisfied with my meal.
Sit at the bar if you can because it’s so fascinating to watch the chef in action. Expect to spend 15,000 yen per person, not including drinks.