They’re not called “mountain-sized servings” for nothing.
In Japan, extra-large orders of food in restaurant are usually called omori, which literally means “big serving.” That’s not the only term that can be used for jumbo-sized edibles, though. There’s also yamamori, or “mountain serving.”
A proper yamamori has the appearance of mountain, and as such you’ll often see the term used in describing jumbo-sized orders of foods that can be piled up, like rice or pasta. But at revolving sushi restaurant Miura Misakiko, there’s also yamamori sushi, and we stopped by the chain’s branch in Tokyo’s Ueno neighborhood to do a little culinary mountaineering.
Appropriately, the restaurant is located right at the start of the network of shopping arcades collectively called Ameya Yokocho. After World War II, Ameya Yokocho was the site of one of the city’s largest black markets, and while the area’s transactions are on the up-and-up these days, Ameyoko (as Ameya Yokocho is also known) is still known as a place to find a good bargain if you’re willing to buy in bulk.
We sat down at the counter, and as we waited for something tasty to slide up on the conveyor belt, we looked at the menu, which prominently displayed the restaurant’s lineup of yamamori sushi.
The yamamori sushi is prepared in the gunkan, or “battleship” style. That means the ingredients are ringed by a strip of dried seaweed, which gives the whole thing a bit more structural integrity. And really, these mammoth morsels need all the support they can get because of their huge size.
We decided to eat as many as we could fit in out stomach, which, given how big they are, wasn’t very many. Still, there’s always room for maguro (tuna), right?
Next up were some amaebi (shrimp), which were almost intimidating in their show of strength in numbers.
Traditional table manners hold that sushi should be popped into the mouth whole and eaten in a single bite. That’s not possible with Miura Misakiko’s yamamori, though, so no one seemed offended when we used our chopsticks to eat a couple of mouthfuls of topping before polishing off the rice, seaweed, and remaining seafood in one final bite.
▼ A veritable forest of kani (crab) salad
Cultured gourmands know that the word sushi actually doesn’t refer to raw fish, but to the vinegared rice it’s placed atop. While these behemoths all technically still count as sushi, their ratio of topping to rice is so heavily loaded towards the former that it’s easy to forget about the rice’s existence until you finally eat your way down to the bottom of a piece.
▼ Engawa (flounder fin)
Like at most revolving sushi restaurants, these yamamori are served with two pieces to a plate. Each plate costs between 340 and 660 yen (US$3 to $5.90), but considering how much you’re getting for that price, it’s a pretty attractive deal. The quality is more than adequate, and that sense of satisfaction goes double where the quantity is concerned.
▼ Nianago (stewed saltwater eel)
After our meal, we were stuffed, but thankfully Ueno Park, one of the largest in Tokyo, is just a block away from the restaurant and a great place to go for a post-sushi stroll to aid digestion. Actually, we’d recommend a walk around the park before stopping by Miura Misakiko too, to help work up an appetite (trust us, you’ll need one).
Restaurant information
Miura Misakiko (Ueno branch) / 三浦三崎港 上野店
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Ueno 6-12-14
東京都台東区上野6-12-14
Open 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. weekends and holidays
Website
Images ©RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]