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