THERE’s nothing I like better at Toji (winter solstice) than to slip into an Onsen (hot spring bath) for a quick Yuzu-yu (soak in yuzu juice infused water). Afterwards, clad in a yakata, I savour the traditional accompaniment of Azuki-gayu (rice gruel with red beans) and pumpkin. OK, I’ve never actually done this but, as an ardent admirer of Japanese ritual, would like to someday.
Yuzu and Umezushi – there’s no need to indulge in Beatles/Stones or Blur/Oasis rivalries
In the meantime I make do with sporadic visits to Yuzu, the Chinatown-based Japanese restaurant named after the citrus fruit whose intense juice has now made it from specialist oriental stores onto supermarket shelves. Under the radar it has even been used to add flavour to Doritos and chewing gum.
The wrinkly little customer punches above its weight – as does Yuzu behind its self-effacing facade in Faulkner Street. The interior is equally zen. Plain wood and a few posters (including one for the Magic Flute at The Met – I’ve also meant to ask why). It offers a simple canvas for a kind of culinary calligraphy that is never extravagant but has attracted Michelin recognition. Chef David Leung works in a space fit for a pod hotel but he’s serving barely 20 covers with an appropriately restrained menu.
If crosstown rival Umezushi’s menu eschews tempura, then Yuzu’s yells NO SUSHI in capitals. So what do we get? Noodles, broth, tempura, sashimi and fish that’s as fresh as, well, a dash of yuzu or a slug of Hitachino Nest Beer Weizen.
YuzuNest Beers were new to us, so alongside the wheat beer we tried the Red and, my favourite, the surprisingly complex Classic. There’s no wine list, green tea doesn’t appeal and usually I prefer sake on its own as a meditative balm. Still Yuzu’s sake list has a silky shimmer about it, so I succumbed to just the one 150ml cup (at £8.50) of Uru Gasanryu Koka. So elegant from its grassy, herbal nose to its lush grape and pear sinuosity on the palate. It’s from Yamagata prefecture – I mean to make a pilgrimage there one day.
By this time dishes were arriving. Gyoza (£4.20), freshly made prawn dumplings, had a chewy heft I liked dipped in pungent chilli oil; such a contrast to a bashful duo of Agedashi Tofu (£3.50), lightly fried silken tofu delicately sprinkled with scallions and grated ginger.
Gyoza and beers
Daikon and sweet wakame seaweed saladA subtle daikon and sweet wakame seaweed salad (£3.30), dressed in yuzu, was a gorgeous accompaniment to a large mixed plate of sashimi for £19.99 featuring scallop, tuna, organic salmon and sweet prawn as fresh as… you know where I’m coming from.
The ideal non-sharing combo at Yuzu is tempura alongside udon or kishimen noodle broth – there was much slurping of the latter at a neighbouring table. We had just the prawn and seasonal tempura, the batter crisp and light.
Sashimi
BonitoA special of whole grilled whole sea bream (£15) looked a bruiser but nothing compared to my encounter with a roasted salmon head at Umezushi. Inside the flesh was delicate. For me it didn’t need soy or wasabi. Similarly another special of (very lightly) seared bonito (£12.95). I love this hands-off approach, let the raw materials speak for themselves.
Yuzu and Umezushi – there’s no need to indulge in Beatles/Stones or Blur/Oasis rivalries. We are lucky to have two such outstanding Japanese places pursuing a quest for perfection in the most compact of spaces. This equally compact review is in tribute to all that.
Yuzu, 39 Faulkner St, Manchester M1 4EE. 0161 236 4159.
Rating: 15.5/20
Food: 8.5/10 (gyoza 8, silken tofu 7, daikon/wakame salad 9, sashimi 9, tempura 9, sea bream 8, bonito 9, Uru Gasanryu Koka 10)
Atmosphere: 3/5
Service: 4/5
She thinks me a paparazzo, no doubt...
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