01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
At Otagi, an omakase course can trace the character of its dashi and ingredients from soup to udon and rice. One account of a summer meal describes a bowl made with softshell turtle stock, abalone and aubergine; the diner especially remembered how the aubergine had absorbed the broth. The same course included hamo udon, served with noodles containing ume plum. The richness of the dashi met the plum’s tartness, while the transition from a deep-flavoured soup to noodles with a lighter finish gave the meal a pleasing flow.
Other accounts mention handmade ume-oroshi udon, with plum and grated daikon, as well as chilled noodles with female snow crab. One diner had udon after a meat course, suggesting that noodles can offer a pause in the progression of a meal. The final rice course has also taken different forms: alongside freshly cooked rice, diners have reported egg-over-rice, an egg rice bowl and hayashi rice. It is a welcome change of pace to find familiar rice dishes at the end of a Japanese course meal.
The course changes with the season, and diners have noted that the menu varies. For an evening meal built around a succession of small dishes, consider booking and asking about the day’s menu and ingredients.
