TGIF! Yes, it’s Friday… after 5 days of being a workhorse, it’s time to spend that hard-earned Japanese Yen for a well-deserved dinner feast. It’s also my cheat day after a weekday of balanced diet meal. With my 4 office colleagues, who are already drooling for food, we set out scouting for a dinner place at Isezaki Mall near JR Kannai Station in Yokohama.
There are various fine dining restaurants and izakaya type restaurants, eateries, and food shop along Isezaki Mall. Concerted decision brought us to an izakaya restaurant located at Isesakicho Street where an enticing brightly lit facade with banners of seafood menu and happy hour draft beer promo made us more starving, thirsting, and hungry like a wolf.
There are various fine dining restaurants and izakaya type restaurants, eateries, and food shop along Isezaki Mall. Concerted decision brought us to an izakaya restaurant located at Isesakicho Street where an enticing brightly lit facade with banners of seafood menu and happy hour draft beer promo made us more starving, thirsting, and hungry like a wolf.
Disclaimer: The article is made by my dad, let's call him Mr. Banzai (lol). He is currently residing in Japan and this is his first food blog! Let's welcome him to the team!.
Isomaru Suisan is a spacious two-storey izakaya restaurant. Their specialty is preparing fresh seafood as sashimi, sushi, or cooked the way you want… steamed, fried, soup, grilled… name it, they have it. Those who are not seafood lover and prefers meat, they have choices of chicken karaage in classic, lemon or butter flavor.
In compliance with the government required countermeasures against the pandemic, the shop’s reception ensures customers' temperature was taken using a gun-type thermometer, and a squirt of sanitizing liquid is provided. Tables are set considering social distancing with adequate plastic laminated separators. Service crews are all wearing masks. Customers not settled in their tables are required to wear a mask.
Just next to the reception, aquariums containing fist-sized clams, scallops, grouper, mackerel, tiger prawn, hairy crab… to name a few… are waiting to be turned into a gastronomic wonder.
In compliance with the government required countermeasures against the pandemic, the shop’s reception ensures customers' temperature was taken using a gun-type thermometer, and a squirt of sanitizing liquid is provided. Tables are set considering social distancing with adequate plastic laminated separators. Service crews are all wearing masks. Customers not settled in their tables are required to wear a mask.
Just next to the reception, aquariums containing fist-sized clams, scallops, grouper, mackerel, tiger prawn, hairy crab… to name a few… are waiting to be turned into a gastronomic wonder.
Well-lit interior enhanced the ambience and made the food bright and more appetizing. Service crews are friendly and never fail to shout “Irrasshaimase!” and “Arigatou gozaimashita!” for incoming and outgoing customers respectively.
“Ukiyo-e” inspired menu book cover is fanciful containing colorful images of dishes and beverages. We were disappointed that the menu book was all in Japanese. But the service crew directed us to the tablet on a docking port in our table. It has various language options and the digital menu is user-friendly hence ordering made it easy. And yes, izakayas are famous for having their menu posted and hanging on all its interior walls and corners.
A portable griller was set up in our table then mouth-watering orders came and that made us scrambling for picture-perfect shots of the servings.
Mugs and mugs of ice-cold Kirin draft beer were served despite the chilly temperature outside at 3 degrees C. Half of each mug was gulp in a second.
First was the Dried Squid Tempura in “nori” flavor as an appetizer with chili garnished mayonnaise dip matched the ice-cold Kirin draft beer. This tempura is crunchy and you can’t resist the lightly salted flavor with a tangy twist of seaweed.
Mugs and mugs of ice-cold Kirin draft beer were served despite the chilly temperature outside at 3 degrees C. Half of each mug was gulp in a second.
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| Dried Squid Tempura |
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| Sea Grapes Salad |
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| Grilled Mackarel |
Followed by a lightly Grilled Mackarel (which I think was marinated in vinegar) with grated “daikon” (radish) sides that came with lemon, wasabi, and soy sauce dip. The best part was when the service crew blowtorched this dish with searing accuracy. I preferred dipping the bite-sized cuts in lemon, wasabi, and less soy sauce to have the spicy feel hitting the corners of my nostrils.
Then came the crab fried rice where a plate is good for sharing. I can say that crab meat outnumbers the rice grain. The crab meat is authentic, real crab meat, not a copycat crab cake mixed with flour or whatnot.
And for the finale, fresh raw Assorted Seafood is served in a woven basket containing tiger prawn, squid, scallops, and fist-sized clams. The serving came with a small amount of mayonnaise dip. Grilling started like a wildfire in the bush. The sweet aroma of freshness with the heavenly taste of its tenderness tinged our palate.
Verdict? It was a sumptuous dinner that you can really, “I shall return!” Yes, I will return to try other menu items.
Finally, the bill! The bill can be viewed and generated on the tablet, it can also split the bill by the number of customers in a table. It is called “betsu betsu” in Japanese. It’s not that pricey nor cheap, just on average. The total was Yen 5,000.
Let's rate them, shall we?
Food: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value for money: 5/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5
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