Japanese Restaurant - Hana no Kura

Restaurant Review by A. C.

Hello everyone! I will introduce Hana no Kura. I think that most people don't know this restaurant. It's difficult to find Hana no Kura and it's very difficult to enter. Therefore, I want everyone to know about this restaurant and try it.

Hana no Kura is a Japanese Restaurant. The menu changes depending on the season, so you can't know the menu in advance. Instead, you can enjoy the daily menu, because you can know seasonal foods. Also, there are many kinds of Japanese sake. If you like Japanese sake and you want to know more about it, I really recommend this restaurant.

I drank yuzu liquor and chili plum liquor. An appetizer comes with the drink. Yuzu liquor is Japanese sake. You can enjoy the smell and flavor of yuzu. I'm not fond of sake, but yuzu liquor doesn't feel like sake and it's easy to drink. However, yuzu liquor has a higher alcohol content than beer, so you should take care not to drink too much! Chili plum liquor is very rare. First you can feel the taste of plum and then gradually taste the chili. Your throat feels the sting and spiciness. However, if you don't like spicy things, I don't recommend it. But if you are adventurous, I think you should try it.

I ordered the chef's recommendation menu. First, the sashimi was served. From left to top, under and right are shore plover (のどぐろ), horse mackerel (鯵), water octopus (水ダコ), shark heart (鮫の心臓), bonito (鰹) and chicken grunt (いさき). All were fresh and delicious. I don't like sashimi but I could eat it, because it's not fishy. The most impressive and delicious is shark heart. Shark heart is rare and it's my first time to eat it. It looks liver, but the taste and texture is like octopus. And if you add a little ginger, it's light and refreshing!!

Next, came assorted vegetables. At right are corn, flower beans (花豆), rolled omelet and young corn (ヤングコーン). The most impressive and delicious was young corn. Do you know how to eat young corn? Young corn can be eaten with the beard left on. It's also delicious to eat dipped with mayonnaise! Then, it was my first time to eat flower beans. Flower beans are also rare. They look like black beans (黒豆), I thought that flower beans were sweet, but they're not sweet. I felt a faintly coffee smell and taste. The chef said the flower beans are boiled with coffee. Therefore, if you like coffee, I recommend it.

Finally came the deep fried horse mackerel. It's very crispy and very delicious. You can eat it like this. Of course, it's also delicious to eat dipped with the chef's homemade tartar sauce. The chef said you can eat the tail of the fish. I had never eaten the tail of a fish before, so I tried it. It was so crispy and delicious like the crunchy fried dough on the stick of a corn dog (アメリカンドッグ) If you have never eaten fish tail, please try it.

The atmosphere of the shop is like home. Many regular customers go there, so you can make friends!! Therefore, it's easy foe one person to go this restaurant. But if you don't like to talk with strangers, I don't recommend this restaurant. Also, the food takes a long time to prepare, so if you don't like to eat slowly, I also don't recommend this restaurant. The price is not cheap. Therefore, I recommend this restaurant only, if you want to eat luxuriously, slowly and savor the taste. If you are interested in Hana no Kura, please go there!!

Hana no Kura
Address: 1-3-6 Shin Kamata, Ota-ku, Tokyo-to 144-0054 Japan.
Tell:  03-3739-8790
Operating hours: 18:00~23:00
Holidays: Irregular holidays
Access: 5 minutes walk from Kamata Station south exit of JR Keihin Tohoku line.