Compared to ten or so years ago, Scotland is no longer barren ground for lovers of Japanese food. Anthony Bourdain used to say that you could tell how well a country’s food culture was doing by the availability of sushi.
His theory was that if there was enough of a market to support a number of restaurants selling sparkling, fresh sushi then that was confirmation of a confident, forward-looking food culture in that country.
Scottish pride
By Bourdain’s measure, Scotland has a lot to be proud of. In Aberdeen, Yatai Izakaya is wowing customers as well as scooping the Best Oriental Award at the last Scottish Restaurant Awards.
In Glasgow, newcomers like Nippon Kitchen are joining more established operators such as Sapporo Teppanyaki and OKO Express.
In Edinburgh, we have, among others, Yummy Tori, Kanpai, Sushi Ya and Bonsai.
Farmers’ markets
The latest to join the capital’s Japanese pack is Harajuku Kitchen. The name will be familiar to anyone who has visited the farmers’ markets of the Central Belt over the last couple of years.
Having made many a market goer happy with her stir-fried noodles and dumplings, Kaori Tsuji-Simpson is going permanent with Harajuku Kitchen – a new Japanese bistro and deli on 10 Gillespie Place in Tollcross.
Kaori is the third generation of her family to run Japanese restaurants and she promises authentic sushi and sashimi, tonkatsu or fried pork cutlets, noodle dishes and dumplings.
Fresh & healthy
There will be an emphasis on fresh and healthy dishes with local ingredients such as free range chicken fro the Borders being used.
As well as a lunch menu, Harajuku Kitchen offers a dinner menu, pre-theatre (handy for the King’s) and bento boxes to take away.