「名物 “トマトすき焼き”」のち「コラボ “南の島豚ロースかつ”」 : Kyoubashi Basara

[Chapter 1: Famous “Tomato Sukiyaki”] For today’s Saturday lunch, my companion suggested I go to “Kyobashi Basara (*1)”. Japanese Cuisine restaurant is located on the first floor of Tokyo Square Garden, which is right in front of you after exiting Exit 3 of Kyobashi Station on the Ginza Line.What you're looking for is Basara's famous "Tomato Sukiyaki." Enter through the luxurious entrance. I arrived without a reservation, but was safely guided to a counter seat. For some reason, it's still my favorite end seat. However, at this restaurant, side seats have nothing to do with it. This is because the table area for each person sitting at the counter is approximately 50cm deep and 80cm wide, so you won't even think it's a counter seat. It is an indescribably luxurious structure. I had already decided on the food, so I ordered the lightest of the lunches, a 4-course course. □Shinonome (3,410 yen) [Same for accompanying person] Hassun, Small dish, main dish, rice (including red soup stock and pickles) (Choose “Tomato Sukiyaki” from 5 types of main dish) ■Shinonome ▩Hassun Lots of A composition that gives you a sense of spring. Spring cabbage topped with a delicious dashi soup. Softly cooked rape blossoms and firefly squid. Grilled conger eel and cucumber simmered in vinegar. Spinach with sesame sauce. And fried sakura shrimp tamagoyaki. Attached to it is a branch of cherry blossoms that is about to bloom. Although it's just a lunch dish, this attention to detail is the hallmark of Japanese Cuisine. (⁠^⁠ ⁠^⁠*⁠)⁠/ ▩A Small dish warmly cooked new potatoes tossed with white miso. Take the spring with the skin. Gentle taste... After I finished eating, I realized that I forgot to take a photo. My companion was concerned that I had half of the money left, but I refrained from doing so since it wasn't a report. ▩Main dish: Japanese black beef stew cooked in tomato Sukiyaki You can choose from 5 main dishes, including prawn Tempura, today's grilled dish, Wagyu beef loin Teppan-yaki (+1,100 yen), and Pork Cutlet (+1,100 yen) ), but looking at the open kitchen in front of me, it appears that all they are making is tomato Sukiyaki. The ingredients are simple: beef, tomato, and onion, and underneath the ingredients is a generous amount of warishita. It has a firm sweetness and a dark finish. This density is probably the best way to enjoy large-cut tomatoes. If the seasoning is so light that you can eat rice with dipping sauce, the tomatoes will just taste like tomatoes. Therefore, it is not assumed that warishita is served with rice, and astragalus is not served as an accompaniment. The tomato was coated with the umami flavor from the Wagyu beef, and it harmonized perfectly with the sourness of the tomato itself, making it a delicious dish that was true to its specialty. Needless to say, beef was the perfect accompaniment to rice. (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Even so, I couldn't feel the water from the tomatoes diluting the sauce at all. I wonder what kind of trick it is. If you look closely at the kitchen, it appears that the tomatoes and beef are cooked in separate pots and then served on plates. I see… . I'm impressed by how much attention is paid to every detail Japanese Cuisine even when you can't see it. ▩Sweetness/Cherry Blossom Soft serve ice cream The last dish served was cherry blossom Soft serve ice cream, perfect for spring. I didn't think it was included in the course, so I couldn't help but be happy. Gelato-like, and it melts in the blink of an eye when you put it in your mouth. Tastes like cherry blossom mochi leaves. The soft sweetness spread throughout my mouth, and the scent of cherry blossoms passed through my nose, leaving my mouth feeling refreshed. ^⁠_⁠^ After finishing my meal and leaving the restaurant, I looked back at the sign posted in front of the store and was surprised. This Pork Cutlet is said to be a collaboration dish with Western Cuisine Junichi Hinata, who I met at Yoshoku Hitomi in Kioicho. Apparently they use a brand of pork called "Minami no Shimabuta (*2)". This is a pig that Mr. Hinata recognizes. I'm sure it's different from ordinary pigs. I can't do without eating this... (⁠･⁠o⁠･⁠;⁠) [Chapter 2 Collaboration “Southern Island Pork Loin Katsu”] So three days later, I went back to Basara-san alone for lunch. Of course, it was to eat Pork Cutlet made with “southern island pork.” We arrived at Tokyo Square Garden a little before 12:00. Today is Tuesday, and the city looks completely different. It's a complete change from the leisurely Saturdays, and it's not busy at all with the crowd of office workers. My heart naturally begins to waver, and my steps become faster. When I entered the store and gave the signal, I was able to slip into a counter seat between two and three customers. The store is lively and almost full. Today, let's put aside enjoying the atmosphere and concentrate on enjoying Pork Cutlet. When I received the menu, I was told that Pork Cutlet rib roast was already sold out. Rib roast, which is a rare and popular part, is my favorite part, but I'm planning on ordering loin today, so it won't be a problem. I immediately ordered the following. □Southern Island Pork Pork Cutlet Upper Loin (2,750 yen) ■Southern Island Pork Pork Cutlet Upper Loin The reason I chose the loin was because I wanted to check out the texture and taste of the lean and fatty meat. Rib roast is the most delicious cut of meat, but because the fat is marbling the lean meat, it is not suitable for purely testing lean meat. The loin cutlet was delivered in a reasonable amount of time considering how crowded it was. Good skill is evident. Look at the cross section of lean meat. Extremely homogeneous and beautiful. The teeth enter slowly, probably because the fibers are so fine. The taste is very elegant. It has a fillet-like texture, and the more you chew, the more flavor it gets. The fatty meat has no unpleasant taste and leaves a refreshing sweetness on your tongue. Try the unusual salt sauce. It has a round, soft salty taste, quite different from the sharp salty taste of salt. I wonder if it was designed to prevent the salty taste from overpowering the elegant taste of southern island pork. The sophisticated taste of southern island pork may make it more suitable for Japanese Cuisine. I'm sure Mr. Hinata chose the pork from all over Japan for Mr. Basara. (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠ As I was about to pay the bill and leave the store, I asked him what he was curious about. The restaurant in Mita that has the same name and specialty has no direct relationship with this restaurant, and this restaurant is the only one that has a connection with the Japanese restaurant "Aoyagi." It's cold and rainy outside, but I finished my homework on the southern island pork and solved a question I had, and it was a refreshing weekday lunch. (⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠) *1 About the word “Basara” Even if you look up the meaning of the word “Basara”, it is quite difficult to find a word that fits perfectly. It seems to be a word that expresses "an aesthetic sense and values that are not bound by fixed ideas." Basara-san is a restaurant where you can enjoy the cuisine of the Tokushima restaurant ``Aoyagi''. The cuisine created by chef Hirohisa Koyama, owner of Aoyagi, is based on the idea of ``I want to convey the luxurious pleasure of Japanese Japanese Cuisine, where you can enjoy the delicate four seasons that are typical of Japan, with all five senses, through playful dishes that are not bound by existing concepts.'' His goal seems to be to ``conceive and pass down cooking methods from ancient times to modern times, making full use of ``ancient cooking and techniques'' and ``the latest modern technology.'' And this ``playfulness that is not bound by existing concepts'' is thought to be expressed by the word ``bazara''. Furthermore, the word "old" here does not simply refer to the past or our predecessors, but rather means that "everything is old once this moment passes," which means that we are always striving for something better and newer. It seems like it is. Come to think of it, there was a large sign on the wall of the store that read ``Ichigo Ichie (kai means meeting a food-obsessed person),'' which probably reflects this idea. *2 About “Minami no Shimabuta” These pigs are bred at the Nagata breeding farm in Kawaminami Town, Miyazaki Prefecture, which is close to the sea and has a warm climate.The breeding pigs are Agu pigs from Okinawa, and are crossed with red pigs such as Duroc. . Feed made from sweet potato shochu residue contains a large amount of the antioxidant vitamin E, which plays a major role in not only the health of the pigs but also in improving meat quality. The texture of the meat is fine and slightly chewy, with both flavor and richness. The fat has a sweetness inherited from Agu pork. They are raised with love in clean pigpens in a rich natural environment, but due to their low births and slow growth, the number of pigs kept is limited and management is difficult, making them highly rare and valuable.