"Human Gourmet: Omoumai-ten" (Chukyo TV/Nippon TV, Tuesdays at 7pm) is a variety show that introduces "surprising restaurants" that go beyond imagination. On March 10th, they will be introducing a Toyama restaurant that is famous for its hearty meat dishes.
It's a 15-minute drive from JR Toyama Station. The restaurant's concept is hearty meat dishes, and its specialty, "Kakuni Jyu" (1,700 yen), is topped with a 500 gram piece of braised pork, which has been pre-boiled and seasoned for four days. Customers praise not only the size but also the quality of the meat, saying, "You can cut it with a spoon. It's so tender and melt-in-your-mouth."
A popular menu item is "Bakuage," a deep-fried chicken dish made with roughly one piece of chicken thigh. The meat is seasoned with spices such as paprika powder, rice flour, and pepper and deep-fried for 13 minutes. The "Bakuage 5 pieces (single item)," with its signature sesame sauce and ponzu sesame ponzu dressing, is priced at 1,500 yen. You can also add extra rice (approximately 3 cups) with miso soup and a small side dish for 600 yen.
Other large-sized menu items include "Omurice" (2,000 yen), which uses four cups of rice and three eggs, and "Katsu Curry" (2,000 yen), which comes with four cups of rice on a large plate, two pork cutlets, and free extra curry. As a result, part-time workers point out that "the owners have a flawed sense of taste," but the owners don't seem to mind, saying, "I've never thought it was too much," and "The customers are hungry, though."
In response to customer requests, a regular-sized menu was created, but even so, the "Yakiniku Donburi" (900 yen) contains 250 grams of meat, and the "Katsudon" (900 yen) contains 170 grams of pork loin, which are almost like a large serving.
On the regular size menu, there is the "Chibi Kara (small)" (1,000 yen) with 1/3 of a chicken thigh, and the "MIX Set Meal" (1,200 yen) with two Chibi Kara, fried shrimp, and a croquette, but the portions are often increased as a service. While the prices of raw materials such as pork have been rising recently, the owners, a married couple, are determined to keep prices down even if it means taking on more work, saying, "We don't want to raise prices. I can just get a part-time job." The couple said, "We want people to leave feeling full," and they did the same for the interview staff.
The show will be hosted by talent Hiromi, and hosted by comedy trio "Bike King"'s Eiji Kotoge. Guests will include actor Tomohito Yashima, the comedy duo "Niche," and actress Akane Hotta.
