Japanese Restaurant Cheat Sheet - Matsuya

Confused about what to eat at a Japanese restaurant? Quick, bookmark this post and take it with you!

Japanese restaurants are not to be confused with Chinese restaurants. There are countless Chinese restaurants all over SA but there is only one Japanese restaurant - Matsuya!

Traditional Japanese food is not common in SA and Matsuya is the only Japanese restaurant that serves such a wide variety of Japanese cuisine. The only other Japanese restaurants around here have succumb to conformity and really only serve sushi. However Matsuya restaurant sticks to the real deal Japanese food experience

Unless you've been watching anime or living in Japan, their menu looks huge and most of the dishes foreign. So here I'll try to make all the best food on the menu stand out for everyone in this post.

Matsuya can also be an expensive restaurant so here you can follow my guide to all the most famous dishes, and end up only spending around 100 per person.

TIP: Matsuya does make good sushi, but rather avoid it because it is expensive and besides, you can get it anywhere. If you're going to Matsuya, don't go with what you know, go with something new and interesting. Don't be afraid to try new things!

Here's what to try for a main courses:   

(follow the links for details on the dish in Wikipedia)

First is a very popular dish everyone should try, Ramen (think Naruto's favorite food if you watch anime). Then there are various noodle dishes like Soba or Udon noodles with hot or cold variations. They also have Bentou lunch boxes (which are more expensive, but really worth a try) and other special rice dishes you see in anime or maid cafes like Omurice (recipe too) or kareraisu (curry rice). Then they have dishes combining some of the above, Nabeyaki udon, Curry udon, Tempura udon, the list just goes on. If you're not that into soup noodles, go for the Tempura (deep fried prawns) or try the stir fried noodles. And don't worry, the menu is in English, and there are photos so you can see some of the dishes. But remember, click on the links of the above mentioned dishes for a photo and more details.

Drinks:

They serve all the normal things that other restaurants serve, like coffee, cooldrinks, wine etc. But there are a few traditional options too, they are expensive however so drink something normal if you don't want to cross the R100 line I mentioned before.

If however, you're interested in something new and not to worried about a student-like budget I recommend trying the Sake (rice wine) or Umeshu (plum wine) which  are Japanese alcoholic drinks, but are rather expensive. If you're getting sake, share it with a friend, they'll bring two glasses and it'll be less expensive. They also serve Japanese Tea (which is super cheap and delicious by the way). (For the interesting drinks, you'll have to ask for the wine list though). Kanpai! (cheers!)

Deserts:

There isn't such a wide variety, Japanese were traditionally not known for deserts, but they do have some interesting stuff like deep fried ice cream and plum pudding or green tea ice-cream. Not more than 20 bucks, they're quite small, but really good. Besides, the main dishes are huge, so there's no way to fit in a bigger desert. If you're not into deserts, get a fortune cookie instead. Nice way to round of the meal.

Pricing:

Some of the dishes and sushi can be expensive, but if you order one of the above mentioned main dishes and a drink, you can get away with 100 bucks per person.

Over all, Matsuya is a very stylish and new place, with a bit of a view even when you're sitting inside. I would definitely recommend it if you would like to try something out of the ordinary.

Matsya Restaurant
CUISINE: Classic, Japanese
AMBIANCE: Stylish.
TELEPHONE: (012) 992-6288/9
LICENSED: Yes.
CORKAGE FEE: R30.
TRADING TIMES: Dinner, Monday to Sunday.
ADDRESS: Shop G155, Parkview Shopping Centre, Garsfontein Road, Pretoria East.

Japanese food etiquette

As an extra side note, I've put together a few things you should keep in mind when eating Japanese food. This of course wont apply if you're eating it locally but in case you're ever in Japan...

Chopsticks

Chop sticks are called Hashi (箸 / はし). Like in western culture food utensils are not to be pointed at anyone at the table. Also, don't pass food to other plates with your own chopsticks or to other chopsticks. The Japanese are really superstitious so never stick chopsticks upright into your rice bowl as this is part of how they offer rice at funerals to the dead.  If you're given a pair of bad wooden splintering chopsticks you can resort to -inconspicuously- rubbing them against each other to get rid of the splinters. But be careful, as this could offend your host because it's like saying they gave you bad chopsticks.

Slurping

Yes, most people know this, but the Japanese slurp noodles rather ferociously. It's simply a way to eat noodles faster. Slurping helps to get air in you mouth so you can cool the noodles and eat it ten times faster. Think about a busy Japanese subway and the many people who want to grab a quick bite to eat. I've seen a ramen 'bar' at a subway that you can buy noodles, but there are no chairs, so you can grab your food, stand over there, gulp it down and go. Yep.

Rice

Gohan which means cooked rice or meal (ご飯 / ご はん)... I don't fully understand the Japanese tradition of rice yet but the Japanese save their rice for last at a meal and don't eat it mixed with anything. No sauce, stir fry, anything. Some dishes do included mixed rice, but for the most part they eat it plain. And apparently you'll get a weird stare if you throw you soy sauce over it (which I love doing... ばか外人ですね。).

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