Hello, RPV.

Well, it's the rainy season now!

We have been busy with many orders from our business partners in various fields. We are truly grateful to all of our business partners.

This is the time of the year when we are not able to go out on holidays, so I would like to introduce some of Kumamoto's recommended izakayas (Japanese style pubs).

We have many clients from outside of Kumamoto Prefecture, and they often ask us to introduce some of our favorite restaurants when they visit Kumamoto for sightseeing or on business trips. At first, we introduced some of our favorite restaurants, but they were so well-received that we decided to introduce them again on our blog. Maybe we should make it a series?

The first one is an izakaya called Ken Happichaku (居酒屋), which is a blessing from the sea. It is located at 12-18 City 5 Building 2F, Hanabatacho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, across from Family Mart on Nishi-Ginza Street. Of course, it is currently open for business.

 

This time, we would like to share with you a record of our staff's visit on April 13th, the day before the Kumamoto earthquake (pre-earthquake). The restaurant has a counter and private rooms. It is especially popular with people who come from outside of the prefecture on business trips.

 

First, let's toast to the hard work of the day with a draft beer. As indicated on the mug glass, it is Premium Malts. It is rich and delicious. Suntory has a brewery and restaurant in Kashima-cho, Kumamoto, where visitors can tour the factory and drink freshly brewed beer at the restaurant. The beer is very tasty with fine foam. There is a free shuttle bus service from Kumamoto's transportation hubs. However, it seems that it is not available yet due to the earthquake. I hope it will be restored soon.

Normally, I order what I want to eat by itself, but this time I ordered a course meal (reservation required) recommended by the restaurant.

 

First are three appetizers. From left.

grilled shibi tuna with isobe

Natural sea bream with sea bream mozuku

Hyuga Chicken sashimi sashimi on kelp

My memory is a little fuzzy because a little time has passed, but I personally found the shibi tuna to be an interesting flavor.

 

pottery

Nagasaki horse mackerel rolled with myoga, prefectural white onion and red eggplant

It is delicious to eat the horse mackerel you catch as sashimi.

 

food cooked by steaming

Steamed eel and lotus root in chakin-mushi

Soft and lightly seasoned conger eel.

 

food (meat, fish, vegetables, etc.) cooked separately but served together on one dish

simmered radish and horse bacon

Normally, daikon radishes play a supporting role, but this one has a nice bacon broth? The bacon broth is so effective that it is the star of the dish.

 

food cooked by boiling or stewing

Prefectural pork belly stewed in cubes

I don't like meat, but this has a light flavor and I can eat it without any resistance.

 

deep-fried food

Tempura of Masayu sweetfish and cod roe

The crispy texture and freshly picked cod roe and sweetfish are irresistible.

 

food

Fukagawa rice with prefectural asari

I was already full at this point, but clams (especially in miso soup) are my favorite, so I poured it over rice and ate it all at once.

 

It was delicious. I hope you will enjoy the wide variety of other dishes on our menu, such as Kumamoto's famous horse sashimi, kararenkon, fresh sashimi from Amakusa, beef from Aso, and many more. I am sorry that my memory is a little hazy as it was a while ago, and that I cannot give you a good description of the taste and texture of the dishes. So, as the restoration and reconstruction of Kumamoto is gradually progressing, many restaurants are regaining their vitality, and we hope that you will have the opportunity to visit them and other restaurants as well. I am sure they are looking forward to your visit.