Rocket News 24 reports on a lunch menu offered by a venture of the Niigata-based Hakkaisan brewery, a chain of kōji food shops called Sennen Kōjiya (千年こうじや. Thousand Year Kōji Shop).
The introduction by Ahiruneko (duck-cat?) mentions that Hakkaisan are a well-known brand, with those who don’t drink sake having at least heard of it, and regular drinkers holding it in high esteem for its guaranteed delicious tanrei-karakuchi (淡麗辛口, smooth and dry) style.
The shop/bar/restaurant is inside the Coredo shopping centre in Muromachi in central Tokyo, while the Sennen Kōjiya head office is in Nagamori, (Niigata) with other branches in Yukimuro (Niigata), Fujisawa (Kanagawa) and Kagurazaka, Ginza and Azabu (Tokyo). The Sennen Kōjiya site also sells Hakkaisan’s skincare range, Cotte.
As well as offering Hakkaisan sake, the bar offers a lunch consisting of foods made with kōji from the Hakkaisan brewery. There are two options, a daily fish set meal (JPY 1,000 tax included) and the Hakkaisan Kōji-zuke Kaisendon (Hakkaisan kōji-pickled seafood on rice, JPY 1,100 tax included). The sashimi in the seafood bowl is marinated in Hakkaisan shio-kōji (rice fermented with kōji, water and salt) and their own soy sauce kōji. A glass of Hakkaisan tokubetsu honjōzō was JPY 300 (tax included). The Sennen Kōjiya site only lists a two-colour seafood bowl on their menu.
The author reported that marinating in the kōji made the sashimi tacky and rich, giving it full-bodied and concentrated flavour. The pickles and miso soup also contained kōji. She also points out that ōmori (larger portion) is free, which makes it suitable for the gents too.
Links
- Original article (Japanese, Rocket News 24, 20 December 2017)
- Sennen Kōjiya (Japanese)