Ryuji's Day of Nonstop Eating at Honke Toriyoshi and Chuka Soba Morisu, Recommended by a Kure Head Chef

Of the first stop, Honke Toriyoshi, a companion explained that it is the restaurant where Kure's specialty "miso-daki" originated, and added that the owner is an entertaining character. Before ordering any food, Ryuji asked for the "oyster sake" the restaurant is said to serve.

Oyster sake is served by placing a skewer of oysters in hot sake, and the oyster juices foam inside the cup. According to the owner, at first it tastes like sake, but as time passes and it cools, the color from the charring and the broth come out. The oysters that finally sink to the bottom release their umami into the sake while absorbing only its best qualities, which the owner describes as "raising" the oysters. These "raised" oysters, the owner says, can only be had at this restaurant.

Ryuji was surprised, saying, "I had no idea you could drink it like this," and praised how well it goes with sake. After a while, the color of the sake changed, to the point where Ryuji said, "It's basically oyster soup now." Puzzled, Ryuji asked, "Why isn't anyone else doing this?" and repeatedly suggested it should become a Kure specialty. For the toast, they were served sake from Ryuji's home prefecture, Chiba.

Ryuji said yakitori is their favorite food in the world, and expressed excitement, saying they fall in love instantly whenever they encounter a cooking method they don't know.

Next came the miso-daki the owner had been simmering the whole time. Ryuji said they had been watching it simmer in the kitchen the entire while. The owner explained that they preserve the flavor by continually topping up the pot.

Ryuji had imagined a sweet flavor, but in fact it wasn't sweet at all. "It's not what I imagined. Honestly, I love this," Ryuji said. Beyond the depth from the continual replenishment, there is also a lingering finish, with umami that stays in the mouth for a long time. Lost in thought, Ryuji wondered, "How does it end up tasting like this?" and said there must be something more than just the replenishment. The reply was that the recipe would "absolutely never" be shared.

For the chicken sashimi, the white pieces are breast and the red pieces are thigh, eaten with ginger or garlic as you like. Garlic was recommended first. The chicken is from Kagoshima, and you can see fat glistening on the surface.

Of the thigh, the comment was that the more you chew, the more chicken flavor comes out, and the fat is sweet. What surprised them most was the breast: "Breast can be this good? I'm shocked." They also tried mixing ginger and garlic together. Ryuji seemed so satisfied that the commentary couldn't keep up.

The freshly fried oyster tempura was so flavorful it seemed as if it had been seasoned, and Ryuji was surprised enough for their voice to crack. According to a companion, the owner is very confident in these oysters. Ryuji was teased for losing their vocabulary.

A small dish made with yama-kurage (celtuce stem) had a crunchy texture that went well with sake. Ryuji said, "I want to take this home as a souvenir," and agreed with the companions that "it would sell."

For the fried oysters, they were advised to skip the sauce and simply squeeze lemon over them. Ryuji and the others took this to mean that the oysters are good enough not to need sauce. The restaurant said they would like people to eat them as they are, at least at first. Ryuji praised the strong umami and the density of the panko, and said lemon is essential. They also tried the combination of salt and lemon.

The filming took place just as oyster season was nearly over. A companion cautioned viewers that by the time the video is released, the oysters will no longer be available, adding that the chicken dishes will still be there.

The next dish was negima made into tempura. Ryuji was surprised at the idea of "making tempura out of green onion," and commented that the chicken's umami is sealed in and sweetness remains. Ryuji also said that eating the chicken and green onion together tastes like tori paitan (creamy chicken broth), repeating, "Something incredible is happening here." It made Ryuji want to make it at home, though they might not be able to reach this flavor.

Partway through, the drink switched to Chiebijin's lemon tea liqueur. It is blended with brandy, and Ryuji said it tastes so good you almost forget there's alcohol in it. There was also a black tea umeshu, and the companions joked that the restaurant was trying to keep them drinking forever.

Before the final dish, "yuzu nameko" was served once more. It was a particular favorite of one companion, prompting requests for the restaurant to sell it and for Ryuji to create a copycat recipe. There was also speculation that the secret lies in how the yuzu is prepared.

The gizzards were not grilled on skewers but deep-fried without batter and eaten with seasoned salt. Ryuji said that even though it's a cut that tends to get tough, there was no toughness at all; it was juicy and packed with umami. The sweetness of the accompanying green onion was brought out as well.

The owner explained the reason for the deep-frying clearly. Unlike in the Showa era, customers no longer come every day on their way home from work, so food waste had started to occur. If turnover slows, the flavor suffers too. So instead of simply skewering and grilling gizzards as usual, the owner decided to deep-fry them and serve them with seasoned salt. Using the same ingredient in two dishes increases turnover and makes it more likely to sell out.

Negima follows the same thinking: originally grilled on skewers, it becomes kushikatsu with panko, and then tempura as well, used three ways. The explanation is that this increases the number of dishes with less prep. When Ryuji was surprised that the owner would be so candid, the owner replied, "No matter how much I tell you, you can't make the same flavor." As for the miso-daki, the only people who can make it now are the owner and the owner's wife.

The owner said they hate doing the same thing as everyone else. Kure now has many chicken restaurants, each working hard in its own area, but since this was the first restaurant to serve miso-daki, it can't afford to lose to the others. The owner also said that not cutting corners, not doing anything unnecessary, and maintaining that standard is the hardest part.

The restaurant once had a fish tank and served fish too. However, because fish commands a higher price, the restaurant tended to lean in that direction. Then elderly customers born before the war told them, "The chicken's gone downhill," so they stopped serving fish and focused solely on chicken. For those who wanted sashimi, they responded with chicken sashimi, part of Kagoshima's food culture, and that is how they arrived at the chicken they serve today. Ryuji said it was the best chicken sashimi they had ever eaten.

Customers from the Kanto region apparently flood the restaurant with reservations in January and February for the oysters. Even so, the companions and Ryuji said they hope people will come just for the chicken. At the end, Ryuji asked how to make the yuzu nameko, and once again was not told.

The restaurant on the final day was Chuka Soba Morisu, a place their companion Mito had been eager to visit. According to Mito, "chan-kei" ramen, popular in the Kanto region, has several roots, and this shop is apparently one of them. Mito had not been able to eat there on a previous visit, so this was a long-awaited trip. People in Kure are said to eat ramen together with inari sushi and boiled eggs.

The ramen that arrived was simple, with a clear broth topped with bean sprouts and green onion, and at first glance it even looked like udon. The broth has almost no color, but the flavor is solid. Not much oil floats on top either. The chashu is simple, and the thickness and firmness of the noodles are just right. They added coarsely ground pepper from the table and ate the boiled eggs with the seasoned salt provided.

Ryuji guessed that the broth is probably made from pork, possibly with a small amount of niboshi (dried sardines). Ryuji felt that chan-kei ramen may have been aiming for this kind of flavor too. Adding about half a ladle of vinegar with chili peppers partway through is the local way, and it was well received for tightening up the flavor. The view was also expressed that the fact it is made as food you could eat every day, including the salt rice balls and inari sushi, connects it to chan-kei ramen.

Ryuji said that the lack of any strong quirks may be exactly why everyone lines up to eat it. Even a large serving goes down easily. It was also pointed out that the generous use of broth is far removed from current trends.

Ryuji said this flavor is probably almost unknown in Kanto, especially Tokyo, and half-jokingly suggested that a cup ramen with this flavor should be released and that food manufacturers ought to make an offer. Ryuji also admitted it would be hard to recreate themselves. The shop has a 78-year history. A woman at the shop said she always makes Ryuji's recipes and that her husband loves them too, and asked for an autograph. Ryuji said it was the perfect place to wrap up the time in Kure.

Finally, Ryuji was appointed a Kure Tourism Ambassador and received a letter of appointment. A Kure official said that Kure has many locally rooted restaurants, unchanged since the old days, that you can't eat at in Tokyo. Ryuji noted that not many cities have food stalls. There was also talk of a yakitori restaurant with a fish tank where both the chicken and the fish are delicious. In Tokyo, yakitori and fish restaurants are separate, and having both together is a distinctive feature of Kure. The official expressed hope that if many people come to Kure, this food culture will be able to continue even longer.

The ambassador's business card comes with perks: holding it apparently grants entry to facilities in Kure. In one scene, it can be heard that it also grants entry to the Yamato Museum, and Ryuji, delighted, said, "What an amazing business card," before laughing, "Is this really okay?" as the video ends.