Looking round on the Israelis all having fun with the meals at Minato, a veteran Japanese restaurant in Herzliya Pituah, I couldn’t assist questioning whether or not Tokyo is stuffed with falafel and hummus joints, the place the locals can reciprocate and eat our meals with the identical enthusiasm.
I very a lot doubt it.
Minato, which I’ve visited a number of instances prior to now, is at all times busy, with Israelis wielding their chopsticks with nice aplomb. The solely fork we observed on our current go to was being utilized by a younger lad of about 10, eating along with his dad and mom.
We began off with a cup of sake every; I had the chilly model, my companion the new. This Japanese rice wine has an alcohol content material of between 13% and 17%. So, consuming a mean quantity, it could not be straightforward for us to get very drunk on it, solely pleasantly excessive, which suited us fantastic.
A dish of edamame (soy beans), wearing coarse salt, was served with the drinks, so we had one thing to nibble on till the actual meals arrived.
We started our meal with a dish known as Tuna Matsuri (NIS 89), barely pan-seared contemporary tuna slices which have been mainly uncooked inside, served with onion ponzo (a spicy candy/bitter sauce), with avocado and inexperienced onion.
Our waitress assured us that this was made with essentially the most fascinating a part of the fish, the otoro, as it’s the fattiest and is the half used for sashimi, which is uncooked. It was, for sure, a delicacy.
The subsequent dish to reach was a dish known as White Grouper Yaki (NIS 93). Grouper is a meaty sea fish, somewhat like sea bass, and it had been calmly fried and seasoned. The fish was very contemporary and was served with a fragile Japanese sauce, barely candy and bitter. It was supposed to incorporate asparagus, however our very candy waitress confided that the quantity of asparagus within the kitchen had dwindled to virtually none, and would we thoughts having inexperienced beans as a substitute? Naturally, we agreed.
Seven various kinds of nigiri
The subsequent dish was known as Omakase Nigiri (NIS 128), which consisted of seven totally different sorts of nigiri (uncooked slices of fish served on a ball of spiced rice). There was one with smoked salmon, one with purple pepper, and my favourite, a parcel of nori seaweed stuffed with “caviar.” Several others featured the otoro of tuna once more.
As we have been nonetheless a bit of bit hungry – all this uncooked fish just isn’t that filling – we every ate a gyoza (NIS 63 for hen, and NIS 68 for beef). These are kreplach-like parcels with frilly edges and never solely look fairly however style nice, too.
We felt we should pattern a dessert. Since our final go to, the dessert menu has grown exponentially from being simply mochi (ice cream in a dough) to together with what was listed as apple pie, and in addition a plate of chocolate frozen fudgy issues. The pie was served in a bowl and was extra a crumble than a pie, however it was an excellent dessert.
We left Minato after consuming what was fairly a considerable amount of meals, however not feeling stuffed or bloated in any approach. That’s the wonderful thing about Japanese meals – it’s not simply scrumptious however someway gentle and straightforward to digest.
Minato, which suggests “harbor” in Japanese, is a good place for eating out, and the way fortunate we’re to have genuine Japanese meals nearly on our doorstep.
Minato
8 Hamenofim
Herzliya Pituah
Tel: (09) 773-1703
Open: Sun.-Thurs., midday to 11 p.m.; Friday, closed; Saturday evening, from one hour after Shabbat
Kashrut: Herzliya Rabbinate
Wheelchair accessible
The author was a visitor of the restaurant.