Harima:Onaka ga suita

And I’m back! Was I so busy that I couldn’t spend even a couple of hours updating my blog? Nope. I was just too lazy. With mammoth effort, I have somehow yanked myself out of this mental slumber to write todays post.

Last weekend, an old school friend and I decided to catch up over some good Japanese food. Well, I have never sampled Japanese food before and all that I have heard of it before is restricted to blunt complaints such as “it’s too bland”, “it’s too tasteless” etc. I was all set to put those opinions to test and let my taste buds open up to the novelty of Japanese cuisine. We dropped in at Harima – apparently a famous restaurant on Residency road.

Non-veg meal

The ambience is as close as it can get to Japanese. Diners are requested to leave their footwear in the shelf at the entrance. The tables are all very low set and one must sit on the floor on a cane mat to eat their meal. I liked the idea, especially because it is the best posture for eating.

The menu was rather plain and to-the-point. One can order an a-la-carte meal or opt for a Harima lunch. We choose the latter since it seemed more economical. I ordered Grilled Chicken in Japanese Teriyaki Sauce and Batter Fried Prawn in Sweet Mayonnaise Sauce . My friend ordered Vegetables Deep Fried in a Tempura Batter .The order took quite some time to land on our table. The entrees were served with rice and soup and some salad. The bland appearance of the food is a sharp contrast to its exotic naming. Not to forget, the portion size was exceptionally small (especially for an appetite like mine).

Teriyaki sauce is a combo of soy sauce, mirin(rice wine, something like sake) and sugar. This is probably the first non veg dish that I have sampled in my life that is sweet. Tempura batter essentially consists of wheat flour, baking soda, starch and some spices. Japanese rice grains stick to each other and hence, the dish appears smaller in terms of the portion size than it actually is. And of course, there is the usual collection of sauces on the table that you can choose from. Surprisingly, Japanese  meal does NOT include desserts! I could almost feel my sweet tooth seething with anger.

Veg meal

          All in all, Japanese food didn’t quite match upto my expectations. I can think of two reasons for this. One, I haven’t yet acquired a taste for it. Two, I’m simply not experienced enough to actually comment on it. All said and done, I can safely say that I would definitely like to give Japanese food another shot. Till then I would rather not rate Harima J