Basara, the "casual" offshoot of the well-renowned old-school ryoriya Aoyagi (Tokushima and Tokyo), has spawned a new branch, on the ground floor of the massive, freshly-opened Tokyo Square Garden development in Kyobashi.
As mentioned in my recent Japan Times column, Basara's specialty is its tomato sukiyaki. Even at midday, the full kaiseki banquet is an extensive investment — both of time and (at ¥6,090 or ¥10,500) and money. Thankfully, there is an abbreviated version that is not just more affordable but also quite feasible within a standard one-hour lunch break.
What you ask for is the Akebono course (¥2,940) with the meat option. Strictly speaking it's not really sukiyaki, as it's not cooked at the table in front of you. Instead, the official name is gyu shigure-ni tomato-sukiyaki shu-tate: beef lightly simmered (like "autumn rain"), prepared in the tomato sukiyaki style. Same difference, really.
The course opens with the impressive kuruma hassun starter tray (as introduced in this earlier post).
Next, a small cube of firm/soft tamago-dofu, bathed in a lightly sweetened dashi and adorned with a slice of sudachi.
And then the main course: the beef. It's made with wagyu — though not from a name-brand provenance — from Shizuoka.
… accompanied by rice, akadashi (ie dark Hatcho miso blended with a lighter rice-koji miso) miso-shiru, pickles and tea.
Lest that sound too traditional, dessert was impeccably non-Japanese: a custard pudding with rich caramel sauce, topped with a very booze-infused raisin.
The main branch of Basara is in Shiba, about halfway between Tokyo Tower and Tamachi. It also has an outpost in Jakarta.
So far, the new Kyobashi branch does not feature on the official website. But the site for Tokyo Square Garden is here…
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