Turning Around a Pachinko Parlor's Diner: The Tasting Where Ryuji Said "I Can't Serve Food That Doesn't Taste Good," and What Came After

On the morning of the event, customers were lined up at the parlor waiting for the entry lottery. Ryuji had been told there would be 600 people, but he was surprised that there seemed to be even more than that, and said he had never seen anything like it.

By his own account, it was his first time playing pachinko in 18 years. Eighteen years ago he lost 230,000 yen on an Evangelion machine, and he had not set foot in a parlor since. Deciding that if he was doing it for work he would take it seriously, he entered the parlor in the morning and chose an Eva machine. He joked that if he won, it might turn into a "Supreme Recipe" story, and if he lost, a "Void Recipe" story. The results were poor, and he reported, "So far, it's void."

As for suddenly playing pachinko on a cooking video channel, he prefaced that it would ultimately become a cooking video. He repeatedly stressed that the main focus was the diner, and that he had not come just to play pachinko.

When he asked about the diner's popular dishes, the answer was the yakiniku set meal and the ginger pork bento. Ryuji ordered the yakiniku set meal and shoyu ramen to taste. There was yakiniku, karaage and katsu, and at first he was positive, saying the menu lineup was solid.

His verdict on the shoyu ramen was "ordinary." The chashu was large but cold. It gave the impression of highway service area ramen, and he suggested it might be better presented leaning more toward abura soba. The meat in the yakiniku set meal was dry and also tough. Ryuji said it was "worse than I expected," and commented that eating it would not make anyone feel like saying, "All right, let's do this."

Next, he also tasted the curry. Ryuji said the curry roux itself was not that bad. The problem was the temperature: both the curry and the rice were lukewarm, and the plate had not been warmed either. The ramen bowl had been ceramic, so he pointed out that if you use ceramic, warming it beforehand is essential.

He also pointed out that the rice had hard spots here and there. He thought the cooking method was largely to blame, and his assessment was that it was not just a matter of the rice variety. At this point Ryuji said frankly, "First of all, I don't want to serve my food at this place," and "It's at the level where I wonder how they had the nerve to ask me," and let slip that the direction of the video was changing.

He additionally ordered karaage and katsu à la carte to check the quality of the fried foods. His reaction to the tonkatsu was that it was thin and could not be called tonkatsu, and he judged that the fried foods did not taste good either.

The group moved to the office and discussed how far they would improve things, and whether they intended to improve at all.

Ryuji's argument went like this. Many of the problems lay in how the food was served—in other words, the operations. Even at a place run by part-time staff, changing the procedures would definitely make things better. If they use thick ceramic bowls, they should keep them warm in hot water as ramen shops do, and he wanted the curry served piping hot too. On top of that, unless they also upgraded the ingredients, he wondered whether the food would give customers the energy to win. The burden on the part-time staff would increase, and he checked with the parlor whether they were prepared for that.

They also discussed the intent of the collaboration. If they wanted to draw Ryuji's fans to the parlor and, ideally, get them interested in pachinko as well, it would be tough unless they started by improving the diner. Many pachinko customers might think it is enough just to fill their stomachs, but that is not certain, and even people with little interest in food would want to eat something delicious—that was Ryuji's view.

Ryuji explained that his position is to tell viewers clearly when something doesn't taste good and when something does. Since he cannot lie to his viewers, he cannot partner with a place that lacks respect for food. So he asked them to raise the level at least to the point where he could call it "delicious." If they cleared that bar, he also said he would like to offer an original "Void Meal" that could be eaten quickly and tasted good, for customers who want to get back to their machines fast.

The parlor responded that it would get to work on this right away. It was confirmed that Garden's eateries would take a "delicious" direction, aiming for flavors that give customers hope. Ryuji said that this was not what he had planned and it would be tough, but that he would cooperate.

About two weeks after the previous visit, Ryuji visited the parlor again. He had heard that they had completely overhauled things such as the rice, and this episode was to check what had actually changed. Ryuji said that when you get involved with a restaurant, you have to change everything, and it is difficult work. If he did not give a pass this time either, everything was set to be shelved.

It started with a comparison of the rice. The old rice was better than last time thanks to a change in how it was cooked. However, Ryuji assessed that it still lacked the sweetness of rice. The new rice was Koshihikari from Ibaraki Prefecture, and his reaction was that the way the grains stood up was completely different. When he asked whether they could switch all of their rice to this, the parlor said it was possible. Ryuji said that with this rice, the curry's flavor would go up "about three ranks," and judged that if this rice could be served at all locations, it would be fine to offer his own curry. The accompanying staff also tasted it, commenting that the old rice, which had been soft and mushy, was now ordinary, and that the Koshihikari properly tasted like rice.

When he ate the parlor's curry with the new rice, his assessment changed completely. The plate had been warmed, and the temperature was fine. Ryuji said that when the rice is different, everything is different, and that the curry itself was not that bad.

Here the Ryuji-supervised curry—the original purpose of the project—made its appearance. It is a beef curry made with wagyu and roasted garlic, and its depth of aroma is said to be its distinguishing feature. Ryuji himself loves European-style curry, but making it at home requires many ingredients such as wine, which is a hassle. He explained that he therefore developed this curry as something that tastes good even as a retort pouch.

As points of particular care, he cited roasting the garlic quite thoroughly and using twice the usual amount of spices. The beef is stewed until it falls apart. Ryuji himself rated it "good enough to sell online," and said it was his ideal curry. The staff who tasted it reacted to its tenderness and how delicious it was piping hot, and Ryuji emphasized again that simply serving it piping hot makes a difference.

It will be offered as follows. First, the retort curry will be stocked as a prize at Garden's 34 locations. This time, it can only be obtained as a prize. Besides taking it home and heating it up, even people who don't play pachinko can eat it at the attached diner. Ryuji mentioned that it may possibly be sold elsewhere in the future. The start date was announced as Friday, April 24. Ryuji recommended it whether on a day you win or when you've lost and want to cheer yourself up.

Incidentally, he revealed that if this curry had not passed, the plan was to make a "mysterious video" in which he took home prizes won at pachinko and made a Void Meal with them.

Other menu items had also been improved. The yakiniku was switched to a branded pork from Yamagata Prefecture (Tengen Pork). Ryuji praised it, saying the fat had sweetness and it didn't feel dried out, and said it had reached a level that was delicious as a set meal. He also said the quality of the meat matters. The parlor responded that it would serve this improved version at the diner.

For the tonkatsu and karaage, they had changed the manufacturer of the frozen products. The old ones were Ajinomoto products, and the new ones were from a different manufacturer. The parlor said it had chosen "the best one currently available" for the new tonkatsu, and it was different starting with the thickness of the cross-section. Ryuji emphasized that he wanted them to adjust the price. After comparing it side by side with the old product, he added that since there is also a price difference, one could not simply say which was worse, and that it was natural for the more expensive one to taste better. He praised the ground sesame, which they had apparently been offering from before, for bringing out aroma, and was pleased, saying, "This is properly tonkatsu." Katsu curry is possible at the diner, and it was decided that the tonkatsu can be added as a topping to the wagyu curry.

As for the karaage, the old product was Ajinomoto's tender chicken. The new one had the skin on and was fried crunchy, and Ryuji said it tasted as if it had been seasoned, dusted with flour and fried. He was surprised that frozen food could get this good, and said the flavor had gone up "about five ranks." This, too, can be added as a curry topping.

Ryuji expressed his gratitude for their having changed everything in about two weeks since the last visit. He also reflected that perhaps pointing things out harshly had turned out to be a good thing.

Saying that as a cooking channel he wanted to cook something at least once, Ryuji entered the kitchen. To have them consider whether it could be added to the menu, he demonstrated a simple abura soba. He used the frozen Chinese noodles the parlor uses, and at the parlor's request, gave the quantities in grams.

The first step is to always warm the bowl beforehand. Here, too, his attention to temperature showed. The seasonings that go into the bowl are as follows.

• Rice oil 12g
• Soy sauce 15g
• Salt, a pinch (just under 1g)
• Vinegar 5g (to add acidity)
• Chopped garlic 6g (since preparing fresh garlic is difficult with this operation, use the commercial kind)
• Umami seasoning 2g
• Ichimi chili pepper 1g

As an operational tip, he suggested that since the rice oil floats, it should be kept separate, while everything else could be mixed in advance into a sauce to make things easier. He said the ichimi could also be mixed into the sauce.

The noodles were cooked in the parlor's noodle boiler. With frozen noodles, they are done as soon as they loosen, which is convenient, and Ryuji was impressed by how fast they could be served. The well-drained noodles are tossed in the bowl, sprinkled with green onions and toasted sesame seeds, and it's done. According to Ryuji, it is a very simple abura soba commonly eaten in China, and he often makes it at home. On the other hand, he said he doesn't know of many restaurants that serve it. The parlor's reaction at the tasting was, "This is really delicious."

His proposal was that if the seasonings are mixed in advance, it takes almost no effort, and the cost should be low. Existing ramen toppings such as boiled eggs and chashu could be added for an extra charge, or it could be made into an everything-on-top abura soba. He asked them to consider it, saying it would be good if the price could be around one coin (500 yen).

At the end, Ryuji said he thought visitors would say the food here is delicious, while adding that operations on the day would be quite tough. He said there was no choice but to leave that to the parlor staff, and asked them to serve delicious food to the people who come. People can come just for a meal, or come after playing. The video ends with him encouraging viewers to try the abura soba, since it can also be made at home.

The problems revealed at the first tasting were temperature control and ingredient quality. Of those, the ingredients were replaced within two weeks. On the other hand, whether temperature and quality can be maintained in day-to-day service remains in the hands of on-site operations going forward.