kuroda
JR Tennoji Station is directly above the complex building, Tennoji Mio Plaza Building. The 10th and 11th floors of the main building of Mio and the 4th floor of the Plaza Building are dedicated to a restaurant area. Especially the 4th floor of the Plaza Building is very convenient as it is just two floors up from the pedestrian bridge in Tennoji. I often use this place for lunch. The northern area of the Plaza Building on the 4th floor has been renovated, and on April 28th this year (2023), four new shops opened, followed by this sushi restaurant opening on May 10th, a little later. This time, despite it being past 2 pm and having missed lunch, they still had lunch sets available, so I decided to visit this restaurant for the first time. This is a shop based in Wakayama, with two shops in Wakayama City, one in Iwade City, and one in Osaka, located in Umeda's Hankyu Department Store and along the Chuo Ring Line in Sakai City. And now they have opened a branch in Tennoji as well. The name of the restaurant, "Edomae" Kaiten Sushi "Kishu" Yaichi, is somewhat hard to understand whether it's Edomae or Kishu, but it seems to be sushi that is "Edomae-style" with a focus on local Wakayama seafood. The interior of the shop is a modern Japanese style, with a counter seat equipped with a rotating table on the entrance side, and tables in the back, totaling 60 seats. Since I was alone, I was guided to the counter seat. In front of me, the chef's hands were moving swiftly. It seems like you can enjoy freshly made sushi. This raised my expectations. Each seat is equipped with a tablet. Orders are placed using this tablet. Instead of sushi rotating on the table, there are cards with pictures of the sushi rotating. Regrettably, I have no experience of elegantly picking up sushi, so I ordered the "Ajiro Lunch Set (Kishu, 1,430 yen)" from the tablet. While waiting for the sushi to be served, I enjoyed some tea. The tea is in tea bag form, with three types: Sencha, Hojicha, and Genmaicha. As expected, the tea faucet was installed at the seat, typical of a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Without much wait, Chawanmushi (savory egg custard) and red miso soup were brought out, followed by the sushi lined up on the sushi geta (wooden sushi plate) handed to me by the chef in front of me. There are 9 pieces of sushi, and additionally, there is a thick tamagoyaki (rolled omelet). In the middle lies a splendid anago (conger eel). The knife work on the toppings and the slight searing show the effort put into each piece. The nigiri sushi includes toro salmon mayo aburi (seared), maguro (tuna), yari ika (spear squid), aburi (seared) scallop, tai carpaccio, anago, and amaebi (sweet shrimp). In addition, there are ikura (salmon roe) and ikura gunkan (salmon roe battleship). The white and red fish have a firm texture, indicating their freshness. The squid is chewy and sweet. The sweet shrimp has been blanched, enhancing its umami. The seared toppings seem to have been seared on a grill rather than with a burner. The tai carpaccio with arugula as a condiment is exceptionally flavorful. And the anago is incredibly tender and melts in your mouth. The umami of the claw is also delightful. The shari (sushi rice) is a blend of Wakayama-produced Hino Hikari and Kinu Hikari rice. The vinegar used is red vinegar. The shari holds together well. The chawanmushi contains typical ingredients such as ginkgo nuts, shrimp, and chicken, and has a light flavor. The red miso soup has plump asari clams in it. All this for 1,430 yen is incredibly affordable! It's a very worthwhile dish. There were not many customers yet, perhaps because it's not well known, but I believe it will become a popular spot once word gets out. I will definitely revisit.