４月のイスタンブール滞在中は、和食レストランにハマっていました。
場所は新市街のタクシム。インターコンチネンタルから徒歩数分の場所にあります。
この「ポイントホテル・タクシム」に併設されたレストランです。
「うどんや 優曇也」という名前のお店ですが、イスタンブールでは貴重な和食店でした。
※ ローマ字表記が Udonya だと…「うどニャ～」になっちゃうので、タイトルではハイフン挟んでます。
今回最初にやってきたのは、インターコンチネンタルにチェックインして荷物を降ろしてすぐ。
夕食どきなので、まあまあ混んでいました。客の半分くらいは日本人で日本語が飛び交っています。
入口のあたりにスシ・カウンターがありますが… こっちに座る人はいませんでした。
スシ担当のシェフさんも、ややヒマそう。
最初の晩に頼んだのは、天ざる。フルサイズです。
ここんちは、そば or うどん、温かい or 冷たい、フル or ハーフ、と選べるのが便利。
我ながら偏っているとは思いますが… ４回通って全部蕎麦を注文していました。
儂のお食事計画策定資料には「うどん」という単語は存在していないようです。(笑)
フルサイズのざるそばは、こんな。日本在住の皆さんから見たら、何の変哲もないでしょう。
でも、サンマテオで暮らす儂には、蕎麦はレアなアイテムです。
・日系移民は廣島、九州、沖縄出身が多いので、蕎麦を食わない。
・蕎麦はアレルギーで氏ぬ人がいるので、レストランで出さない。
主に以上の理由から、ほとんどの和食店では蕎麦を出しません。
ベイエリアにも蕎麦打ち職人さんがいらっしゃるらしいですが、お店で食べたいよね。
２回目。風呂屋で出るものも出なくなるほど揉まれて、くたくたになってから遅いランチに到着。
冷やしかき揚げそばを頼みましたが、追加で海老天麩羅もオーダーしました。
誤算でした…。かき揚げがみっつも載っかってくるなんて。先に教えてよ！
だからウエイターさんが「フルサイズでいいんですか？」って聞いたんだ…。
蕎麦の量に対して揚げ物が大量で、食べ始める前からお食事計画は破綻しました。
でも完食しました。揚げ物は揚げたてサックサク、蕎麦は茹でたてツルッツル♪
天麩羅に大根おろしが添えてある！！ 先っちょの生姜も、イイ！
なんだあたりまえじゃまいか。と思ったあなたは、きっと日本かNYCあたりに在住。
SFベイエリアの和食店では、まず大根おろしは添えられてきません。稀有です。
なかなかちゃんとした和食が食べられる。と伝えたら、乗ってきました…。
ふたりして、風呂上がりのホヤホヤ気分でやってきて、同じセットメニューを頼みました。
刺身セットです。儂はたぬき蕎麦、元軍人さんはざるそばを頼んでいました。
蕎麦またはうどんに、刺身盛り合わせ、天麩羅、茄子の揚げ浸し、酢の物、サラダ、香の物に御飯。
元軍人さんは、さすが白人でもベイエリア在住。お箸をきちんと使いこなしてお食事していました。
「驚いた。ソノマ郡にはこんな品質の和食店は無いよ！」
「でしょ？ 日系が多いサンマテオ郡にもこんな店は無いです」
その後、元軍人さんをインタコのクラブラウンジへ御案内して、一緒にお茶したわけです。
いつも風呂屋の帰りに立ち寄るから午後２時すぎで、お店はガラガラ…。
また冷やしかき揚げそばに、ざる蕎麦のフルサイズを追加。
かき揚げ３枚だったら、蕎麦食いの儂にはこのくらいのバランスで丁度いいと知りました。
お食事計画が策定された通りに遂行された満足感は、単なる満腹感を超えて嬉しかった。
優曇也
Udonya Japanese Restaurant
+90 212 256 93 18
Located in Point Hotel Taksim
Kocatepe, Topçu Cd., 34437 Beyoğlu / İstanbul, Türkiye
Open Noon - 10 pm
Monday Closed
Oh really? You can properly enjoy Japanese cuisine even in Istanbul, huh? Well, I suppose it's a given in such a major city. In my experience, Chinese restaurants can be found anywhere in the world, but as for Japanese ones, well, that's another story. Yet, I vividly remember being surprised to find a decent Japanese restaurant in Tromsø, a town in the Arctic Circle at Norway, and being even more surprised at its high level of quality when I cautiously tried their food.
ReplyDeleteAround dinner time, the restaurant was quite busy with about half of the customers being Japanese... just like the restaurants, Chinese people seem to live everywhere in the world, but as for Japanese, well, that's another story. I suppose there are decent numbers of Japanese people living in such places. Or maybe they just tend to gather in similar Japanese restaurants?
Hmm, Japanese people are notoriously strict when it comes to sushi, so unless it's really good, they probably wouldn't easily sit at a slightly expensive sushi counter.
And, four rounds of soba noodles, huh? You must indeed be from Kanto (lol). If it were me, I'd take udon, soba, udon and udon (lol). My preferences aside, if I were to order Kakiage soba, I would probably choose the 'hot' version rather than the 'cold' one. The fat from the Kakiage seems to blend deliciously into the hot soba soup.
By the way, there are two things I'm curious about.
The first is this part: "I was massaged until everything that could be released was released, and I became totally relaxed". Is a bathhouse really a place for things to be released? (lol)
The second is this part: "I guided an old man who was formerly in the Air Force. When I told him that there was decent Japanese cuisine available, he came with me...". Did that veteran have a stationing experience in Japan? If not, it seems Japanese cuisine has become quite a global presence. Or maybe you're just good at making friends as usual? (lol)
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteBelieve or not, there are barely few Chinese restaurants in major areas in Istanbul… two in old city side and one in new city side. There are more if I trip further but within touristic areas, only 3 or less restaurants serving Chinese. You can easily imagine… there is no pork. (lol)
And there were several Japanese restaurants like Café Bunka where workers at Japanese consulate general attend often, but most of those were closed the doors during the pandemic. Udon-ya survived this tragedy and the quality is good enough for me – it’s better than Japanese-like foods served in SF Bay Area, especially for soba and tempura. Therefore, the basis of comparison is SF Bay Area, it can’t beat noodle shops in Japan, probably. But for me, it’s good enough.
Due to my 耳ダンボ listening, the clients are mostly intra-company transferee like I used to be. It was about a month away from presidential voting but nobody cares, because they can’t vote. Otherwise, I also heard Mandarin Chinese and Korean, so the basic clienteles are Far East Asians. And the evening of the weekend, Japanese guests were drinking a lot and spoke loud… exactly the same as Japanese izakaya in Basue.
That white thick noodles are ‘aliens’ for me, or my grandma who was Edokko (precisely Hamakko) and she didn’t serve me udon, or prohibited ordering udon when we call neighbor noodle shop. Nabeyaki udon was the exception in winter. Therefore, I never experienced zaru udon with ginger until I leave me hometown… it’s a curse of Chiba and soy sauce with wasabi. (lol)
> Is a bathhouse really a place for things to be released?
It really depends… it depends on which masseuse I got and how he treats me well. Skin scrub and soap massage are served in the steam bath room, but 30 or 60 minutes of oil massage is in a room in darker lights and relaxing music.
> Did that veteran have a stationing experience in Japan? If not, it seems Japanese cuisine has become quite a global presence.
He spent about two years in Misawa and Yokota, if I heard it right because he didn’t remember Japanese places. But whether someone experienced the physical stay in Japan or not, people in SF Bay Area are good users of chopsticks because we have so many Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants everywhere in the area.
Time for more breaking news. Two bottles of KURO 20-degree 1800ml have arrived at our clinic today, of course, one of which I've already handed over Dr. Doi). I haven't had a chance to taste it yet, but the original glass container is captivating. At first, I just thought "What a stylish black, just like my M850i Gran Coupe♪", but on closer inspection, it's clearly designed to resemble the 'kame' that is the mother body of this premium shochu. When I imagine scooping it up with the attached ladle, I can't help but picture myself "sneaking into a sake brewery and stealing a drink from a kame that has been brewing for many years" (lol). I want to scoop it with a ladle, put large chunks of ice in a chilled glass, and enjoy it on the rocks. It's truly a product that makes me want to do just that. Once again, we’d like to thank you.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, back to the topic of cars... Yes, I think that M850i Gran Coupe also has the 'almost sewage-like gray metallic' color that you describe. I, who always stick with sapphire black, didn't choose it fortunately...
The downtown parking lot that you often pass by must allow for the observation of various cars. Under the blue skies of California, even flashy car colors that would stand out in Japan might look fitting. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in Mercedes, so if you come across a rare BMW that I wouldn't see in a regional city like Okayama in Japan, please upload a picture again. Just like the shochu, I'm looking forward to it.
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteGlad to hear you guys certainly received the special version of Kame Shizuku. That black one is limited for one time purchase, so please enjoy. But I didn’t know the jar is made of glass… from the picture online, I thought it’s a porcelain jar… now I double checked but it still looks like a sleek porcelain in dark brown. With sweet potato shochu, as I told you before, I only have traumatic memory when I was in Minami Satsuma pilot farm of T-gakuen so I don’t know how the real taste is, but if you guys are happy, I am happy.
Seriously, that sewage pipe color is the most recent ‘trends’ in West German cars. I saw that colored cars at least three times a day – manufactured by Volkswagen Group and now BMW. I don’t see Mercedes yet so their car designers are still healthy. Other manufacturers’ designers must be kept incommunicado in a ‘white room’ for a month or two.
Because we have blue skies and a strong sunshine, keeping a car in shadow is important. Otherwise the body paints will be muted quicker, all plastic parts went oxidized, and metal parts go rusty so the disk brakes start screaming. (lol)
But this weather is perfect for convertible (cabriolet in Europe). The biggest problem of convertible is not the strength of the body, but if you park your car roadside with the roof kept open, it will be used as a huge ashtray for envied smokers… and if you drive after sunset, there will be the chances of unwanted companions jumps in such as deer, raccoons and… skunks!!
When I encountered other strange colored Bayer cars, I will try talking pictures so please stay tuned. But my next expected encounter will be a black sleek M850i.
Despite your endoscopy being over, here's an additional breaking news. Today, a cheesecake that looks quite delicious was delivered to Midori-san. Could this be a "Midori-san exclusive" item? Should I refrain from taking it for myself? Oh, even if you give me the okay, I'm sure Midori-san wouldn't allow it. She, like me, is also the type who wants to eat delicious food as soon as possible and enjoy it all to herself(lol). I don't think I can eat it, but we sincerely appreciate your caring.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that you would promise to take a photo if you encountered the sleek black M850i, and you followed through with that promise. Will it make an appearance on your blog, perhaps? If so, I should have given it a more thorough car wash.
I have also noticed the increase in the "sewage-like car colors," especially among West German cars, just as you mentioned before. In fact, yesterday I visited the BMW dealership that I often frequent, and when I mentioned to the salesperson, "There seems to be an increase in sewage-like car colors for BMWs lately," they chuckled and said, "It's a popular color in Japan, you know." It must be a popular color in Europe. It's not my choice, though...
If you have the opportunity, please continue to take photos of various colors and models of BMW cars. I'm looking forward to it.
Are you again “Back to the Future” mode to post your comments retroactively?
DeleteI’m glad to hear that Jerome’s cheesecake arrived on time.
That’s the one made by the executive chef at Sant Pau.
Because I sent too many delightful items to you, the cake was assigned to your wife-san primarily.
So please ask her you want any share. Good luck! (lol)
I insist on arranging the comments in chronological order, but this is mainly for cases where new articles appear regularly. If not, I have to go back in time. The "Back to the Future" mode can be enjoyable at times.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, a cheesecake suddenly arrived at our clinic, and it caught me off guard. That's because I thought, "Huh? The container seems too small for shochu?" I tried to regain my composure and persisted in thinking, "Is it a mini-bottle version of shochu?" But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a cheesecake. I was oddly convinced by that, and overlooked Jérôme's name.
When I got home and took a closer look at the contents, it read, "Welcome to JÉRÔME's signature recipe". It was then that I realized it was made by the executive chef at Sant Pau.
Yes, indeed, you have sent Dr. Doi and me many extravagant gifts so far. I understand that this cheesecake is mainly intended for Midori-san. Our pet dog, Run-chan, tries to bite my fingers when I interfere with her meal, so I try not to do such a thoughtless thing.
So, I would never do anything as foolish (or dangerous) as trying to share the cheesecake while Midori-san is enjoying it all to herself. Therefore, I would never ask her something foolish like, "I want to share that cake" (lol).
However, Midori-san did not try to eat the cheesecake yesterday. When I asked her why, she said that our daughter is coming back from Kobe to Okayama on June 16th to attend a friend's wedding, so she plans to freeze it and keep it until then. After all, our daughter, Yoko-san, is a big fan of cheesecake!