Cabin Dining in the Heart of Kyoto
Hello, everyone! This is Yoriko Kuwahara.
You can’t talk about tourism in Japan without talking about Kyoto. The amount of information floating around about tourist attractions and restaurants in guidebooks and on websites for this city is staggering.
Despite this, there are restaurants tucked away in Kyoto that are known only to some. They’re not in guidebooks, and they don’t have their own websites, and yet they are well-regarded and consistently packed.
If you walk south for a few minutes on Higashinotoin Street from Sanjo Street toward Shijo Street, you’ll see a sign on the right that reads “隈本総合飲食店 MAO” (written as “Kumamoto Sougou Inshokuten MAO” from here on).
Just from looking at the sign, you don’t get the sense at all that it’s a proper restaurant. Even judging from the second to last word in the name, “Inshokuten” (generally known as a cheaper place to get food), you might think it only has really simple food.
I was ready for an adventure. I pushed open the door, and to my surprise, the path before me was stunning. My initial impressions thoroughly squashed, I grew more and more excited for what lay beyond.
Inside, its design was far beyond what I expected to see. One moment it was a typical, hole-in-the-wall place, and the next I was looking at a vaulted ceiling that was far less like an inshokuten and more like a cabin or a mountain hut. There’s also a Japanese-style garden inside behind big, glass windows. You’re in Kyoto, but you somehow feel like you’ve gone for a hike or gone camping. With the jazz music playing in the background, its atmosphere was just perfect.
So now you know how much I liked the interior atmosphere, but what of the food? There were multiple lunch options, and while the “Big Kid’s Lunch” (a selection of childhood favorites tastefully presented for those of us still young at heart) caught my attention, I went for the more unusual and limited “Special Lunch.”
For the appetizer, they started the meal off with a quintessential fall flavor: mackerel pike confit. The slight bitterness of the vegetables and the rich balsamic vinegar paired perfectly with the flavor of the mackerel pike, whose crunchy exterior had an enticing savory, roasted aroma. It was so good, I couldn’t stop eating. Looking to my side, I noticed that there was an elderly couple having a good time enjoying the very same lunch set.
After my appetite had been whetted for more seasonal food, it was time for the main course. I was so excited for the food, wondering what it might be, when I was surprised to see it arrive on a very stylish wooden plate!
On it sat three kinds of sashimi, white fish and pumpkin tempura, boiled beef tongue, roasted beets, dashimaki egg, and yuzu tofu.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good the sashimi was. From left to right, we had sea bream, Japanese mackerel, and isaki. I typically enjoy white fish anyway, but the mackerel here really blew me away! The roasted beets were cooked to perfection. The moment my chopsticks reached my mouth, I was swept away by its succulent umami flavor. I learned this only after I was done eating, but the vegetables they use here are from a farm in the Fushimi area of Kyoto. It really is nice being able to eat locally sourced vegetables.
The main course was accompanied by a simple, rustic soup and a bowl of rice with salmon flakes. The rice went perfectly with the main course! Not only was it delicious on its own but it also paired well with the eggs and tofu. I was also glad to see that the soup wasn’t miso soup, which you would normally expect in this sort of lunch course. Instead, with its finely chopped green onions and gentle flavor, it reminded me of a nourishing consommé soup.
It’s often said in Japan that in order to have a well-balanced diet, you should eat at least 30 different foods every day, but finding enough variety to reach this goal can be difficult. With a meal like this—eating a little bit of so many different things—I feel like I’m treating my body the way it deserves to be treated.
Although Kyoto will be crowded in the coming weeks as fall comes into full swing, I whole-heartedly recommend taking a trip to a restaurant like Kumamoto Sougou Inshokuten MAO, the kind of place not everyone knows about. You might be a little skeptical at first, but a surprise beyond imagining could await you inside!