Kaisuian會水庵: Where the Anago Meets Tamago

Hidden at the corner of a lonely street in Akasaka, Kaisuian attracts long queues during lunch hours for 3 reasons--1) Limited Seats 2) Only the husband is cooking while the wife serves customers 3) Unpretentious good food

焼穴子たまごふわふわ　1400円

There is not ONE but TWO signature dishes that one ought to try. First, it's a rice bowl topped with a hefty slice of anago beneath the droopy-licious tamago. Called Fuwa Fuwa Anago Don, it was the reason why I came here. The ultimate combination of my two favourite things--Anago and Tamago, how can I afford not to try this???

The owner has boldly charーgrilled the Anago instead of simmering it. Hence, one gets to taste quite a different texture of the Anago; smoky burnt edges, flavorful but slightly dry.  Perhaps that is why Fuwa Fuwa Tamago acts as a timely rescue to the anago! Below the dome of eggs are a pool of semi-cooked egg liquid that provides free moisturizing service to the fish and the rice. 

しらすと焼いわしの親子丼1200円 

The second signature item is the "Oyakodon", not the marriage between the chicken and eggs but between Grilled Iwashi and Shirasu (ikan bilis lookalike). Again, I love these two species of fish. However, I noticed that the shirasu served in rice bowls here are usually soft and rather wimpy. Perhaps it would be great if they can pan-fry them and make them crispy, like ikan bilis in Nasi Lemak rice.

Nonetheless, that's how the Japanese eat their Shirasu. There is no sauce in the rice except for a side of sticky grated mountain yam that you can dump into your rice bowl. 

In fact, there is absolutely no need for any sauce like shoyu as the Iwashi (not Saba) is already very concentrated in flavour.

Simple side dish of simmered eggplant on tofu that comes in every set

This place attracts a decent crowd from nearby business towers so don't be surprise if you need to queue. Come at night and this place serves only a ¥5000 Kaiseki course that varies monthly.

Kaisuian　會水庵

City Mansion Akasaka 1F, 6-4-15, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

                Nearest Station: Akasaka Station

Opening Hours: 11.30am-2pm, 6pm-11pm / closed Sat-Sun, holidays, first Thu of the month