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Konnyaku is their specialty
Here's a fun little fact for anyone reading this: konnyaku is actually banned in my home country of Australia, because the starchy fiber product that it's made of apparently artificially fills your stomach and makes you feel full. I visited this nice restaurant a couple of years back now, and had a set with a range of konnyaku side dishes with a pork main dish. I was full well before finishing everything, so I guess the konnyaku did its job? It's super low calorie (almost zero calories, apparently), so it's a good option if you're trying to eat healthfully.
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on Nov 18
Develop a taste for Devil's Tongue in this earthen restaurant
As we pulled into the large car park of Kume Kichi I knew straight away this was my type of place. The one level building blends into the rural background with its unimposing architecture. As you enter the restaurant you are embued further into the earthen tranquility. The entrance to the restaurant is a corridor of wood with paved flooring. There are small lanterns on the floor enhancing the ambiance. You take off your shoes and step up onto the beautiful wooden floors. Straight away some of the restaurant's distinguishing features make an indelible impression. The restaurant is filled with natural light from the floor to ceiling windows running along one full length and half of the sides of the restaurant. There is an old style pit grill, built into a tree trump beside reception. Then there is the giant Daikoku-sama (see review for Okuni Shrine) beside the self-help counter. The restaurant does have servers and they will take your order and bring your main dish, but you can help yourself to as much rice and miso soup as you like (depending on your order). We sat at a large table at the back of the restaurant with windows on two sides with a beautiful view of a small bamboo groove. Either side of the bamboo there are green areas, one of which has some stone features. There is a wooden veranda on the south side of the restaurant. The whole setting is serene and simply beautiful. Not to mention the food is absolutely gorgeous, and healthy to boot. The speciality of the store is Devil's Tongue or "Konnyaku" as it is called in Japanese. They have a selection of choices on their menu, but we went for the "Konnyaku" lunch. The main dish varies between fish, pork or oden with the sides the same on all. The restaurant is close to Okuni Shrine and there are a couple of other shops in the area, but it is largely a beautiful rural area. Enden station Morimachi Byoin Mae and Totomi-Ichinomiya Stations are all about 8 minutes away by car. Each of them are on the Tenryu Hamanako Tetsudo Line.
genkidesu
on Apr 2