Umaya: A famous Kabuki actor’s lair

If you need to impress but refuse to burn a hole in your pocket, Umaya is an excellent choice for authentic Japanese food in a quaint traditional Japanese restaurant. Its claim to fame is that it was started by a well-known kabuki actor and even uses its third floor as a rehearsal studio. So you can actually savour your food to frantic dance steps just above your head.

With Edo-period stamped all over it, you get the feeling you’ve stepped into an oasis of Japanese zen, but it has modern tables and chairs so you won’t get muscle cramps at the end of the evening. An oxymoron, you think? Go on over and check it out.

The menu looks like typical izakaya fare but you can definitely taste the difference when you bite into any of their mouth-watering yakitori.

You’ve got to order the chicken skin salad — it sounds a little repulsive to some but this is one tasty dish with its blend of succulent chicken slivers and vegetables.

It’s such a traditional place that you have to grate your own wasabi. Cool, eh?

It was for the yuba (beancurd skin) dish that was simple in concept but sensationally fresh.

To wrap up the meal, you typically order a noodle or rice dish to bulk up the teeny tiny servings you get in tapa-style izakaya food. Somehow the decision making was left to the kangaroo and he chose well…

Chicken risotto Japanese style — it was actually rice porridge (or okayu in Japanese) and it definitely hit the spot.

Yet another winner was the Hakata ramen with its rich pork-flavoured broth and springy noodles.

Be prepared to pay about 6,000JPY per person if you imbibe a lot of sake, if not, the bill would be a very affordable 4,000JPY with just a few beers.

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