The real Japanese washoku cuisine, characterized by traditional recipes handed down from mother to daughter
When a cook tells you about his place in his heart, the temptation to try it is even stronger. This time, the advice came from Sauro Ricci, chef-anthropologist of the vegetarian restaurant Joia, 1 Michelin star. The address in question is the Yamamoto gastronomy, hidden in a small street of the old Milan, behind the central Piazza Missori. To tell the truth, I had already tried a couple of times to book a table, but without a few days in advance is almost impossible mission. Because, a little more than a year after its opening, Yamamoto's gastronomy already has its own audience of loyalists, very heterogeneous in style and age, plus a hard core of Japanese customers who rediscover the most genuine flavors of home cooking . Sushi, sashimi and roll are banned, in favor of the washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine, whose recipes prepared daily by mothers and grandmothers of the Rising Sun have been recognized World Heritage by UNESCO.
At lunch, it's time for teishoku
The menu of the lunch It is served on a tray and consists of a main course of your choice, accompanied by miso soup, white rice and small samples of the contours of the day: in Japan it is called teishoku and it is the typical meal of the population, which consumes it at least once a week. Among the proposals, the ka-ree, a kind of curry with spices, meat and vegetables, and the tonjiru, a hot soup with vegetables and pork, to which you can add the udon, the soft wheat spaghettoni, typical of Japanese cuisine. The less adventurous can fall back on the slice of grilled salted salmon or on the wa-fu steak, served cut and topped with a delicious soy sauce, butter and fruit. To try absolutely is thea-don, a bed of rice with the best eel I have ever tasted, and the sandwich with pork cutlet and tonkatsu sauce, very popular. Other tempting dishes are the sake don, pieces of cooked salmon and trout eggs, served on hot rice, or la wakame salada, a salad of seaweed and vegetables, so beautiful to see (as well as good) that fully represents the Japanese aesthetic that seeks, even in the kitchen, the harmony of tastes and colors. In combination with the dishes, both tea and Echigo rice ales are excellent, but there are also sake al goblet and Italian wines.
A relaxing environment
The environment is a lot welcoming and relaxing, also thanks to the minimal taste of the furniture, made of furniture with natural colors and simple lines of Scandinavian tone, but above all from the cordial reception of Aya Yamamoto and her mother Shih Chy, always smiling and generous with explanations and advice. At the entrance, there is a small room with a few tables, where you can sip a tea, and the counter with specialties ready for take-out (that's why it's called gastronomy), including the bento-box, or the Japanese answer to the schiscetta, the take-out lunch of the Milanese; a short corridor leads to the small dining room with partially visible kitchen, kingdom of the cooks Yasushiro Masumoto (former chef of the historic Osaka restaurant in Corso Garibaldi) and of the young Himeno Shun. At dinner, the offer is expanded by a few dishes, the atmosphere becomes quieter, the satisfaction remains maximum.
Yamamoto gastronomy
Via Amedei 5, Milan
Tel. 02.36741426
Prices: about 25 euros, all inclusive
This recipe has already been read 324 times!