Ten Ten Tei

I hate November. The weather is grim, the days are short, and let's face it, everything natural dies. I used to wallow in the misery of dark November days, wear black, listen Morrissey and read Thomas Hardy. Nowadays, I am less of a masochist. In fact, I try and do things, such as drinking and eating, that simply take my mind off the fact that it is the month of gloom.

It was partly with this in mind then that I cycled down to Ten Ten Tei, 56 Brewer Street, last night. In this simple Japanese diner I sought diversion from my moody Novembery contemplations.

Aided by the companionship of JA and RK we surveyed the vast menu that greeted us. Ten Ten Tei seemingly have everything: ramen, udon, soba, sushi, sashimi, donburi, fish, meat and veg dishes. That said, I was mildly disappointed by the lack of cha-han, something I am increasingly craving for (anyone know a place?).

Anyway, we gave our choices to the friendly but firm waitress and were soon rewarded with some exciting dishes. Most comment worthy were perhaps the cricket ball size, very tasty minced pork/potato croquettes. The quality of the fish was excellent too with the standard tuna sushi turning out to be made using a high quality buttery cut of flesh.




The 'tofu steak' was a generous and tasty alternative to the usual deep fried variety while the buta shoga (pork in ginger) and tempura were average but welcome. The niku jaga was fairly uninspiring although JA was pleased with the stock and wild for the gyoza.

My two friends also took a shine to the bottle of Bulldog tonkatsu sauce on the table. I tried to explain the manufacturer's rise to fame as a result of the attempted Steel Partners takeover bid, but probably failed to flesh it out properly - for those who are interested in the juicy details, click here. Perhaps more of a conversational highlight was RK talking about boisterous Ozzies when it later emerged that the two, very quiet, men on the adjacent table were indeed Antipodeans. Woops.

All in all Ten Ten Tei is good for a reasonably priced (about £15 ahead including a drink), authentic Japanese restaurant. It's been open about 20 years and there is a reasssuring presence of afterwork parties of Japanese salarymen.

The mystery of why Brewer Street is a little Japan Town continues....

Wasabi Sushi & Bento

I came back from Brighton today and had to change trains at Victoria - I decided to check out the Wasabi Sushi & Bento place at the station. To be honest I've seen this place on a number of occasions and given it a wide berth, it just looks a bit nasty. The sushi is on shelves wastefully wrapped in individual portions while wasabi, soy and ginger is available in tiny sachets for 5p a pop. Today I decided to give it a go.

I opted for a couple of salmon nigiri ("2 sushis for £1" as the billboard announces) and some avocado hosomaki. It was predictably disappointing. Despite the name of the place, wasabi is not used in the construction of the sushi, the fish was small and unimpressive (although it was fresh) and the avocado too young and hard. I was pleased not to have bought more and to have avoided the specially for the UK varities such as red pepper rolled sushi. And, as well the excess packaging of each portion, to add insult to injury, they also give away disposable chopsticks with every purchase too.


At the counter, as well as offering wasabi peas, there are a few hot dishes available such as the very greasy looking chicken yakisoba, a Chinese looking tofu or chicken "jahang" and a couple of other shiny MSG concoctions.


It has been hard to find out much about this chain except that it is Japanese-owned and the website claims to have some sort of health mission pronouncing that sushi should be fresh and affordable. Hear hear. Apparently it is doing quite well too having 11 branches listed on the website, and having opened only in 2002. Reportedly, its Oxford street branch attracts almost 7,500 people per week visit with an average spend of £8.00. It is also pioneering contactless paying technology. At least it stands a chance of giving people like Pret a run for its money. Shame about the food.

Fishing at Tesco's

When sushi first exploded on to the British restaurant scene in the 1990s, it wasn't long before it caught on as a healthy alternative to the ubiquitous triangle packaged sandwiches. Media everywhere picked up on the trend and tended to agree enthusiastically that this particular Japanese import was cool, healthy and to be hastily embraced. The BBC went so far as to claim that sushi, although not particularly confidently, "could cure cancer". Interestingly, ever the xenophobe, the Daily Mail was a lone voice in actually putting forward the opposite opinion that sushi is not only unhealthy, but also possibly carcinogenic (see here).

Nevertheless, a trip today to Tesco's in Amersham, Buckinghamshire confirmed that sushi is firmly installed on the British snack rack. The range is rather simple, mainly salmon, prawn and egg, and it is not worth spending time on the truism that British sushi is rather different from what one finds in Japan (see here for that). The fact is sushi is here to stay and it will be interesting to see how it develops and what British features it takes on - apart from being more expensive and not as fresh of course.

A potter around the shelves reveals very little else from Japan. In this particular branch there was no sake, no Japanese beer, no Japanese brand of green tea, no pickles or senbei.

The most conspicuous Japanese brand is Yutaka whose place on the "Speciality Ingredients" shelf consists of miso soup, sushi rice and vinegar, tempura batter mix, seaweed, wasabi, ginger and instant yakisoba (tangy Tokyo style no less!).



There were also a few bottles of Teriyaki sauce and Kikkoman soy sauce. What will provincial Tesco's stock next? mirin? natto? I'll keep updating and check out the Waitrose and M&S too.