Reginald Williams
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If you’re looking for authentic Japanese food priced reasonably this is about as good as it gets anywhere we’ve been in southwestern Ecuador, and even including all but possibly one place we found in Quito. Though “rolls” are all the rage in the US, and seemingly here in Ecuador, as well, these—especially those dripping with heavy sauces and mayonnaise—are not authentic in any sense of the word other than the word “roll”, itself. Rather, true Japanese cuisine relies on the ingredients to speak for themselves, complimenting the flavors and textures with a very small amount of one subtle sauce or another, and sometimes accented with a small amount of piquant “wasabi”.
Such was the nature of the “chirashi sushi” which I ordered. Pictured below, this is a dish usually served in some sort of bowl filled partially with vinegared rice and covered with an assortment of carefully selected cuts of raw fish. While the rice used was not authentic Japanese sticky rice (rather pricey here in Ecuador) the flavors, textures and presentation were all authentic and the portion was surprisingly generous. In all, I returned three times to eat the same dish!
Meanwhile, my wife and I both enjoyed the “donburi” offerings, as well. We had the chicken katsu donburi, again a bowl of rice (not vinegared—“donburi” means bowl) but this time covered with a breaded, deep fried chicken tenderloin smothered in egg and sautéed onions complimented with a slightly sweet and salty sauce unique to this kind of dish. This, too, is shown in the photographs below.
We were somewhat disappointed by the “okonomiyaki”, too smothered in sauces and not quite cooked enough for us, but overall, we were delighted to find a place that offers such authentic Japanese food. It was an added bonus to meet the Japanese owners on our last day in town and they kindly treated us to a small portion of their best “o-toro”, or fatty tuna 🍣. Yumm!!!
