Kushiya Monogatari 串屋 物語

Kushiya Monogatari 串屋　物語

One of those places where you just have to try it at least once if you don't mind deep fried food.  Now once again I've turned-off the half of readers who are health conscious, but I say "Wait!"

Wait - just because something is cooked in oil does not make it unhealthy. The oil is the cooking vehicle, so don't blame it. We've already learned how Japanese bacon is healthy, and this post will tell you how these deep fried skewers are healthy.

And then there are some of you who say that deep frying is not really "cooking" and look down upon it. Well tell that to restaurant Wasabi in Osaka, a kushi-age (pronounced ah-gay: meaning deep fried) place with a Michelin Star to place next to its name! Neat place and some great looking skewers.

Now that you're pumped up about eating deep fried food, lets get started.


Kushi = skewer 串.　This is one Kanji you should have no problem learning. And if you've been paying attention you've seen it before in Kushitei and Kushimichi.
Ya 屋 is house. So Kushi House. 
Mono gatari means "story" or "legend."  物語 and is the same "mono" as in tsukemono (Japanese pickles), tabemono (food), and nomimono (drink) to name a few.

Kushiya - Monogatari Yokohama

Kushiya Monogatari is an all you can eat restaurant. They charge a fee for lunch and about twice that fee for dinner. So if you can, visit on a weekday or weekend during the day. We went to the branch in the newly opened Mark Is Minatomirai mall near Landmark Tower, but the closer restaurant is on the 8th floor of More's City. Thanks to Chris for bringing this new opening to my attention. Chris was featured prominently in the Watamin-chi post in case you are wondering who Chris is. Bring your receipt with you when you're done, present it upon exiting the parking garage, and you'll get free parking if you haven't been there too long. I've posted the location on the blog map or you can click on the location link at the very bottom of the post. More's City is above Yokosuka Chuo Station.

Culture note: When entering these establishments that have flags hanging down (as shown in the photo above) you must follow the proper technique for entry.  The proper name for this arrangement of flags or curtains is "Noren." Aim for the second flag from the left. Approach the Noren with your right arm up, bent with the elbow high, palm toward your body, and hand low, pointed at a 45 degree angle down. Upon contact, extend your hand up, keeping the elbow basically still (point of rotation), so that you make an opening through which to pass. Enter. Allow flag to drop. Holding the flag for the next person is not necessary and ruins the aesthetics of the moment.

Upon entry and after a short tutorial by the staff, you're off to gather your raw vegetable, meat, and seafood skewers from the kushi bar. A full menu lineup can be seen on the Kushi-Ya website. If you are a very disciplined eater, you'll ignore the kushi bar and make a stop at the salad bar first for your proper first round of salad.  There is nothing wrong with you if you do this, you're just in the minority.  Actually the recommended process is to get a salad and to eat a bit of it between each skewer to "freshen the palate" - I learned that from the Michelin starred Wasabi mentioned earlier.  This is to avoid palate-oil-overload or （fill in the blank) for short, if you will.  Hey it just happened that way OK??

In the photo above, you see all the things you need to get going. And it will probably take you a good 10 minutes just preparing your table. First you dip into the milk looking substance, then the crumbs, then into the fryer. How long you cook it is up to you. Then let it drain, rest, and cool for while. Dip into one of the many sauces or salt they have available.

The salad and soup bar is not that bad considering the focus is on the skewers. I remember typical salad bar items, plus a few kinds of soup, rice, curry, pickled vegetable,  pasta salad, pasta. They don't show you everything on their website. The dessert bar features Japanese sponge cake and fresh fruit along with a chocolate fountain.  A nice selection of juices are also available.

That chocolate fountain may tempt you to take some bacon, deep fry it, and...No. Stop. You didn't learn that here.  But yes they do have pork belly on a skewer.

You do have a personal deep fat fryer at your table that you are entrusted with. So caution is advised. Such a thing I don't think would ever be allowed in the U.S.  We would surely figure out a way to tilt the table, dump a drink into the fryer with catastrophic results or some other calamity nobody has ever thought of.  I'm sure they've factored all the possible hazards into the design here though, so no worries.

Signboard at the restaurant

See all the fresh vegetables and fruit? That's healthy.

Skewers in cold storage

Fruits and Dessert

Salad / Pasta bar

One rule to follow if you're sharing the dipping sauce tray - no double dipping! The guy in the photo below does a much better job helping you visualize this rule. He is Daruma Daijin from Daruma Kushikatsu in Osaka. He has a sign near him, not shown, that states the rule.

from Tokyoskyscraper.com