This is what it's like behind the
counter at a local Japanese Tempura restaurant
[Intro Music Playing]
So I'm back with another behind the
counter video and today we are in Tokyo
Roppongi and I'm going to be taking you
behind the counter at a local tempura restaurant
But like always before I start
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Alright let's go behind the counter
Here we go
I'm taking you inside to show
you never seen before footage of what
really happens at a super local Japanese restaurant
This time at a Japanese
family-owned straight-up
Edo style Tempura restaurant
named Tempura Mikaku which is only a
three-minute walk from exit 3 of Roppongi Station
This restaurant has been
in business since 1931
Originally opened in Nihonbashi
it later relocated to this spot
Oh ! One of the workers is already here
Good Morning !!
That's Mori San
His grandfather originally opened this shop about 90
years ago and I guess he's following in
the family business
and that's Ikitani San currently the Head Tempura Chef
So, What are you gonna do first ?
Apparently the owner and head chef
Mori San's father is currently out
recovering from back and knee surgery
How are you handling all of it ?
Oh really ?
How long have you been working here ?
Oh ! He's preparing the traditional Japanese offering to their Kamidana
a.k.a family alter
He says that they make an offering every day
after that he starts
working on getting the kitchen prepared
Damn !! He's working with a lot of long cutting boards
and there's one more worker
I guess he had to do the Kaidashi
ingredient shopping before starting work
[Music]
so what are you doing now ?
[Music]
Oh ! He's preparing the oil
How much do you use at one time ?
apparently their shop uses a new batch
of oil each time they cook
so twice a day for lunch and the other for dinner
while also adding fresh oil as they cook when needed
What's that ?
How long have you been doing this kind of job ?
So he's originally from Kyoto and worked
as the head chef for a traditional
Japanese style restaurant and eventually
moved to Tokyo and started working here
to further master his skills as a tempura chef
Is there any difference in the work prep for tempura
compared to other foods ?
So what's your favourite tempura ?
and this is the seafood for today's lunch
oyster, wakasagi fish and onago
saltwater eel
so how do you decide who fries at lunch and dinner
So you won today ?
[Music]
Meanwhile in the back kitchen they're making dashi
wow ! It smells so good
He says that this dashi is a key ingredient
to making everything he's preparing delicious
That's Tentsuyu, the dipping sauce for
the tempura and this one here is miso soup
So what are you responsible for in the morning prep ?
He says that the hardest part is to
produce the same exact taste and quality
each and every day
So did you have to study a lot for this ?
What's that ?
Agedama are the tiny bits of fried tempura
batter left after frying tempura
and is commonly used as a topping for udon in
other Japanese dishes which adds a light
and crispy texture
Usually restaurants charge a few dollars for a bag of
Agedama but this shop offers it to local
restaurants and customers for free
Are you married ?
What about kids ?
Oh ! How old is your son ?
and you ?
I see the average worker age at this
restaurant is pretty high
so what are you into?
Why do you like it ?
He says that he usually participates in
carrying the heavy shrines to the streets
and many different Matsuri festivals but
because of COVID It's been canceled
all throughout Japan this year
Do you have a Mikoshi Dako ?
I did Matsuri once too in Shimokitazawa
Let's film when you go next time
The shop buys seafood directly from intermediate wholesalers
who they've developed a long time relationship with
While many other restaurants these days order on the
phone to be time efficient this shop
still visits the market to handpick the
food that's served to their customers
Now they're preparing the Hanjuku Tamago
soft boiled eggs used in their tempura
These days they prepare about 30 eggs
for the lunchtime service
What do you like about making tempura ?
What's the most important part ?
apparently even things like the
temperature and the day's weather affect
how the tempura comes out so he needs to
make adjustments every day
oh wow he's still preparing the shrimp
apparently shrimp is one of the most
time consuming items when it comes to
the tempura prep
[Music]
And Dinner ?
So, What's your hobby ?
What do you draw ?
Cool ! Cute Manga
I like the Giants
What team do you like ?
Why ?
Wow ! You got baseball cards
He says he used to play Kusayakyu - amateur baseball
Were you any good ?
Oh ! It seems like they're talking about reservations
He needs to make sure that they prepare the correct amount of
ingredients based on their expected customers
How long have you been working here?
he says though he really enjoys working
at the restaurant as it allows him to
meet talk and learn many new things from
different people he comes across every day
By the way where'd you grow up?
How was your dad growing up?
So Mori Son, How is business these days ?
Roppongi is usually a busy area in Tokyo
with many people on the streets throughout
the day and night partly due to many IT
finance and other such companies in the area
However many of the office workers
in the current climate work remotely
even to this day so the area is
generally much quieter
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All right let's go back inside
Cool ! Rice is ready to go as well
They use 100% pure koshi hikari rice from shirakawa
fukushima known for its beautiful luster
and stickiness which creates a slightly
sweet umami as you eat
Now he prepares the Nukazuke a Japanese
method of pickling using rice bran
Its served for dinner but it takes time for
the ingredients to ferment
so he prepares it in the morning
[Music]
Did you finish preparing everything ?
What are you going to do for another hour?
He says that lunchtime is supposed to be
tougher than dinner but because of COVID
it's a lot slower than usual
Hey ! What are you doing on your phone ?
Oh you like flight simulators ?
I guess that's one way to make time fly by :)
Oh damn ! He's checking the oil temperature with his finger
Doesn't it hurt ?
Just before lunch hour starts
He cooks all the delivery orders that they receive via delivery apps
What delivery apps do you use ?
That's a lot
and there goes the delivery
How convenient is that
[Music]
now the shop's open for business
[Music]
By the way the shop uniform he's wearing
is a shirt commonly worn during Japanese
Matsuri festivals called Koikuchi
definitely feel that Matsuri vibe here
[Music]
Here comes the first customer !!
Finally, it's time to fry
Why'd you do that ?
Yeah ! There's nothing like hearing the
fresh tempura batter crackling the hot oil
Oh something a bit unique about this
shop is that the tempura chef's use real
deal drumsticks to fry their tempura
Mori san's dad a former Jazz drummer is
the one who started this
Apparently regular chopsticks are much thinner and
eventually break after so many washings
while drumsticks are made out of hickory
which is very strong and hard so it
lasts much longer over time
I like it practicality with style
When the shop creates a tempura bowls they
usually work as a pair
one fries while the other is responsible for the sauce and plating
[Music]
Cool ! The first tendon tempura rice bowl is complete
Hi, Can I ask you a few questions ?
You come here often ?
What did you order today ?
Thank You
By the way the shop uses a secret blend
of sesame oil and cottonseed oil
specifically selected for their style of tempura
In fact the sesame oil that they
use is created using a traditional low
compression technique called Tamajime
which uses absolutely no chemicals in
the process helping produce its
signature rich and full sesame aroma
Excuse me !! Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
Do you come here often ?
Why?
The shop also uses pesticide free vegetables
grown on a farm in Kanagawa
while atleast most of the vegetables as some of
the vegetable ingredients aren't grown
on that farm
Either way fried fresh vegetables count me in
The shop even offers salted only tempura without sauce
so you can enjoy that farm fresh even more
Hi ! Can i ask you a few questions ?
Why did you guys come here today ?
What's your favorite ?
What's unique about the tempura here?
the chef makes it look so easy to make
but the reality is it takes a highly
experienced chef to deliver a consistent
quality tempura understanding the subtle
details of how much batter to use for
each ingredient maintaining the right
temperature and knowing how long to cook
each one is a skill only mastered over
time apparently the chef can fry up to
four bowls worth of ingredients in the
tempura pot and with so many things to
take into account all at once he needs
to remain focused the entire time
[Music]
so what's the most important thing to be
aware of during lunch time?
Have you made mistakes with orders before ?
What do you do then ?
Oh ! Has anyone ever got super mad ?
Gota love Japan :)
Are you done with lunch time ?
The lunch peak is over but there's still
a few customers who come in until two
once the store slows down though he
starts to clean and organize the kitchen
working area
[Music]
At the end of lunch
the staff work diligently to completely clean up the
kitchen area so that it's ready for
dinner time when the shop reopens
The shop even takes apart and scrubs down
the frying area so it's spotless for the
next time's use it's all part of their
daily routine
Ahh ! That's why Maiko always gets stomach ache
Tempura speciality restaurants like Mikaku
don't just throw away the oil though
they hand it over to designated
collection companies who recycle the oil
for other purposes
and there goes the last customer
WOW ! That grilled fish smells so good
finally it's time for the workers to
have their own lunch
Cool !! It seems like one of the vendors is
dropping something off
Where is your factory?
cool beans Thank You !!
After the shop is clean they all get
together and have a special workers meal called Maknae
They make a different menu each day and today they're having
grilled akodai fish
It looks so good
How is it ?
It is quiet
so that's another one in the books
If you want to visit this shop and
experience it yourself I'll be sure to
leave a link in the description
so that's what it's like behind the counter
at a local family owned tempura
restaurant here in Roppongi
If you guys like this video help me out and hit that
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