Behind the Counter at a local Japanese Okonomiyaki Restaurant

this is behind the counter at a local japanese okonomiyaki restaurant [Music] so i'm back with another behind the counter and this time it's going to be a hot one but like always before i start if you want to see what i'm doing on the daily check out my instagram account if you want to help support the channel check out the tokyo and japan merch and if you have any questions about japan or japan travels check out my discord community that all said yusuke should be arriving shortly here we go i'm taking you inside to show you again never seen before footage of what really happens at super local mom and pop japanese restaurants today we're going behind the counter at a family owned father and son okonomiyaki tepan restaurant called saya in sendagaya tokyo the restaurant was open 27 years ago and yusuke the owner's son runs the shop these days with plans to carry on the family business in the future good morning so this is yusuke the manager and main chef at the shop we're in today his father actually has a second tip on yakishop which is nearby but it's reserved for mainly vip guests which the father is in charge of yusuke is usually the first one to arrive at 9 30 so what time are the staff coming oh cool he's changed into his uniform one of the first things he does is turn on the tap on grill tip on an english meaning metal plate which is where the food is cooked on apparently it takes a while for the steel tapon to warm up [Music] he has about half an hour before the other stuff arrives so he makes use of this time to prepare the kitchen are you from tokyo when you were young did you think you would be a chef yeah cool how did you get your started what [Music] now he prepares the rice for today he prefers to pre-soak the rice overnight all the while keeping it refrigerated to maintain the quality on average uses about four kilograms almost nine pounds of rice per day opting to use koshi hikari one of the most popular rice bands in japan [Music] so yusuke is 34 years old and in total he's been working at the shop for about 15 years which is almost half of his entire life in fact he was only seven years old when his father first started the restaurant so it's always been very much part of his life at 10 he sets up the store front the wooden sign is slipping now reads that the shop is in the middle of getting ready which still means it's closed but it'll be opening soon that's morigeo it's a traditional japanese custom where a pile of salt is placed at the front entrance to ward off bad luck oh the owner yusuke's dad is here so can i ask why did you start this restaurant back then he had the option to choose whatever restaurant he wanted to start but he decided on teppanyaki because he thought it was the coolest japanese food [Music] oh nelly it's so hot back here now yusuke prepares a miso soup a traditional japanese dish generally consisting of dashi stock and miso paste and then varies depending on the region and personal preference often included in a typical japanese breakfast but also served at lunch and dinner such as in the shop as it complements the main dish eggs are another ingredient that the shop uses a lot he only uses high quality domestic eggs from places like okukujiran in ibaraki and date tamago and fukushima oh wow i don't usually see shops adding eggs into their miso soup it's great that his own family traditions have made it into their everyday menu [Music] [Music] why'd oh the rice is ready so what did you do before this job are you from tokyo as well apparently he got this job through his mom who knew use case dad which allowed him to start working right after he moved to tokyo oh another worker is here what's that oh what ingredients do you add i feel you gotta keep the shop secret sauces secret the ac doesn't go there oh damn are you gonna fix it really so what do you love most about being a teppanyaki chef [Music] [Music] dad's back can i ask you another question what do you think makes this shop stand out from the rest of your life as i briefly mentioned before the father runs a separate membership only vip teppanyaki restaurant just a few buildings away i've never seen it before so i'm excited to have a look oh it has a completely different vibe let's be honest the prices here must be different right you're laughing do you work during lunch time yeah before we continue on i want to tell you about the awesome people at boxing who also sponsor this video i know that many of you have already signed up which is awesome but for those who don't know they provide a gourmet experience of japanese snacks and tea pairings delivered to your front door they work with traditional japanese factories some over 100 years old to provide you with authentic japanese flavors first time users will get a seasons of japan box and after that you'll get a theme box like this one this month's summer theme is manatsu fruits meaning midsummer in japan you get this nice booklet that takes you through each snack as well as extra information about japan it includes a unique citrus flavors like shikawasa kobosu and setouchi lemon my favorite this month is the shore monkaki a salted lemon snack which you can try for yourself so get 15 off your own authentic japanese snack box subscription from boksu by using my code paulo 15 and link in the description [Music] it's 11 now 30 minutes before the shop opens so yusuke starts cooking the takeout dishes he also prepares the osaka yaki an osaka-style okonomiyaki which takes about 30 minutes to cook it's a popular dish that many customers order so he starts cooking it in advance to minimize customer wait times okonomiyaki itself is a japanese style pancake it's usually made with flour eggs yam cabbage and other proteins as one prefers and it's often flavored with dashi in japan it's eaten as a meal or a snack now he's making hiroshima yaki for takeout which is a hiroshima style okonomiyaki made up of layers of ingredients without mixing in advance and are sandwiched between the crepe-like thin pancakes and noodles are definitely a signature ingredient of hiroshima yaki in addition to making sure that each layer is perfectly cooked flat so it stacks up evenly [Music] wow that looks so good do you prefer osaka style or hiroshima salad it appears simple and easy enough to make but even slight differences in how it's cooked and the ratios of ingredients used can quickly yield an inconsistent dish only a true chef can create a consistent okonomiyaki that their customers can come to enjoy time after time and hence why each okonomiyaki restaurant is unique in itself how long have you been working here and how old are you why did you decide to work here got it and what are your responsibilities now it's time to prep the noodles the worker needs to wash it break it apart then add oil to ensure that it doesn't stick to the tap on grill so what do you do when you're not working do you go by yourself [Music] finally they're open for business oh the first customers are already here the seeds are filled up pretty quickly and yusuke immediately begins cooking several orders all at one time at max he can make up the 24 okonomiyaki all at the same time that's some real multitasking and apparently when he's making all of the orders he plays hard rock and puck music in his head to get into his zone this whole process is made even more efficiently with teamwork as one person cooks while the other finishes the plating which includes saucing toppings and sides and then once plated is immediately taken out to the customer's table quite an efficient team and each full one set around 800 yen about 5.85 cents [Music] damn given all these orders you must already be tired damn the way you poured that chicken bone soup though that's some next level style i love it as a second generation restaurant owner it used to be difficult for usekay to be compared to his father early on his career but over the years as he honed and mastered his skills he doesn't feel that same pressure anymore and looks forward to creating the best okonomiyaki as possible so what's the most challenging part about managing a teppanyaki restaurant have any of your previous workers started their own restaurants when the orders slow down on the tip on grill usa of course helps out on the floor serving and cleaning [Music] that's a lot of dishes by the way have you ever wanted to open your own restaurant oh nice apparently he used to work at an italian restaurant before working here but says that now he's trying to gain as much experience as possible from this restaurant so he'll be well prepared when he tries to start his own cafe in fact he also helps the owner's cafe during lunchtime so he gets double the experience here as the overall lunchtime rush slows down the workers are preparing for dinner in the back [Music] finally the lunch hour is done [Music] oh yusuke is cleaning the grill after cooking burn marks are naturally left on the tap on to ensure that it's able to be used for many years he performs a deep scrub and clean each time after every shift restoring it back to its original shine meanwhile the staff prepare the toshi for dinner otoshi is an appetizer dish that customers are offered when they arrive in exchange for a table charge this dining custom is common for many japanese bars and drinking restaurants i guess today he's making a miso flavored pork and vegetable saute and although it's just a small dish for atoshi it's clear that it cries a lot of effort to prepare but this is probably why the shop is a favorite among locals it smells amazing now he prepares lunch do you know what you're making [Music] that's a lot of eggs for just three people oh it's also for the workers at the other teppanyaki shops it smells so delicious interestingly at this shop they change the menu every single day they almost never have the same thing in over a month so he decided to make a pork and shrimp garlic fried rice today the youngest worker is responsible for making makhani which is the meal in japan offered by the shop to its workers apparently they take turns making luck and i every day and today it's his turn geez it looks phenomenal how's the taste good damn do you usually eat this much [Music] after muk and i it's fairly common in japan for workers to take a nap in the shop before the long dinner hours ahead and that's another one in the books if you want to visit this shop and experience it yourself i'll be sure to leave a link in the description but that's pretty much another one behind the counter if you guys like this video like always help me out and hit that like button if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to japan hit that subscribe button and i'll catch you guys in the next one

Channel: Paolo fromTOKYO

Views: 1,178,697

Keywords: Paolo, Japan, Japan guide, Japan travel, tokyo, tokyo guide, tokyo travel, behind the counter, japanese food, japan behind the counter, japanese food tour, japan food tour, japanese food eating, okonomiyaki street food, okonomiyaki, teppanyaki, tokyo restaurant, japanese cuisine, japanese pancake, japan travel food, behind the counter japan, okonomiyaki tokyo, japanese food vlog, food documentary, japan food documentary, tokyo hidden gems, tokyo hidden spots, saya

Id: eiNuXaxqf6U

Length: 15min 53sec (953 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 15 2022