Nonotori, Osaka (Japan)
Howard
27 February 2009
Dinner, Japan, Kansai Region, Japanese
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I ate raw chicken and survived (for now)
After checking into our hostel, we all needed something to eat. We bought our own sandwhiches and snacks onto our Jetstar flight, but I’m the type that actually needs a proper meal during brekky, lunch and dinner. Instead of exploring our local area in Fukushima, we decided to hop back onto the JR (train) and head to JR Osaka where there was bound to be some good food. After walking for 15 minutes and getting lost, we settled for the last izakaya on the street, Nonotori. What we didn’t realise, was that it sold chicken and chicken only. This wasn’t a good start to our trip for Teresa because she is a vegetarian. I assured her there was bound to be a salad leaf or two we could spare her.
The Kitchen
Nonotori consists of two levels, with the top level seating being a bit more private. Downstairs contains one row of tables which can fit 6-8 people. You can also sit near the open kitchen so you can check out the chef’s doing their thing. The chef’s were alot of fun and didn’t mind a bit of a laugh despite not understanding a word of english. The lighting is a bit dim, but I found this a common occurance throughout Japan’s izakayas.
Chicken, carrots and lotus
Soon after we sit down we are given a plate of these each, on the house. This is another common trait of izakayas, you get a free appetiser/entree every time! The simple combination of chicken, carrots and lotus had a subtle taste of sesame oil.
Since we had no idea how to read the menu, we were fortunate enough to have an Eastern European looking waiter on his first day on the job help us order. He suggested we nominate a price, and the chefs would cook us up a meal which sampled as much of the menu as possible. We opted to spend 2500 yen each which works out at around $60 AUD (not including drinks).
Grilled chicken breast
These chicken breast skewers were lightly grilled and had no marinade on it at all. They were topped with a sour-ish chilli sauce, a bit like a peri peri sauce and some finely chopped spring onions. Despite my love for chicken, I found these skewers a bit difficult to swallow because they were cooked ‘medium’.
Grilled chicken bum (anus?)
Whatever part of chicken this was, it was definately a bit fattier. This was the best chicken bum I have ever tasted. Unlike our first dish, the chicken here was cooked all the way through with pieces of onion and served with a side of wholegrain mustard. I’m pretty sure the mustard had a hint of wasabi in it too, sneaky fellas.
Marinated chicken skewers
This is more like it, the chicken is consistently cooked properly on this occasion. Small pieces of chicken thigh were grilled with basil, capsicum and onion. The sauce was teriyaki-ish, but it was impossible to identify exactly what it was. Either way, the chicken was surprisingly tender and this was my favourite dish of the night. Unfortunately, it was also the last chicken dish which wasn’t raw (or semi-raw).
Grilled chicken giblets
I’m usually not a big fan of giblets, there is something about the taste which is a bit too ‘gamey’ for my liking. When this dish came out, I was a bit skeptical but to the credit of the chef he did a pretty good job with these giblets. They were lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and then simply grilled. Sometimes, it’s the simple methods which bring out the true flavour of any food.
Marinated cucumbers
The cucumbers were marinated in a sesame based sauce and tasted a bit like kim chi. Highly refreshing and was a good contrast to the copious amounts of meat which we had already chowed down.
Tomato with buffalo mozarella
Another relief for Teresa. Slices of tomated and buffalo mozarella cheese were drizzled with olive oil and mixed herbs. A bit tasteless, but the texture was nice. The tomato tasted like it was left in room temperature for a bit too long.
Chicken salad : Chicken, basil, radish, tomato, onion
A simple salad, but it packed a punch in flavour thanks to the basil and onions. A lemon based dressing was used also.
And the moment of truth ……
Raw chicken .....
looks ok ....
I was naturally a bit skeptical when this dish arrived on our table. Initially, all I saw was a bed of chopped spring onions. However, lying underneath the rubble was thinly sliced pieces of marinated raw chicken. We all looked at each other with blank faces, waiting for someone to take the plunge and have the first bite. It was the first meal of our 17 day trip and no one wanted food poisoining. With eyes closed and my mouth sanatised with beer I took it for the team and had the first piece. In hindsight, it wasn’t any more different to eating sashimi or beef tataki and actually tasted quite nice after I drowned it in sauce and spring onions. If I’m going to trust anyone preparing raw chicken for me, it would be the Japanese.
Potato with butter and watercrest
Chicken hotplate
Chicken pieces sprinkled with salt and pepper were cooked on a hotplate. The chicken was once again cooked ‘medium’, if you can see in the picture.
Nonotori was an eye opening experience into a restaurant which seems to focus mainly (only) on all things chicken. Atleast they have made me immune to eating raw chicken, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I’d like to try it again.
Nonotori
Open : PM5: 00 ~ AM0: 00 (last order PM 11: 30)
3-15 JR Kita-ku
Osaka Nakazakinishi under the elevated No. 34, Japan
Ph : 06-6359-1514
Arwen from Hoglet K
FFichiban
Karen
Chuck
Reemski
Emma || 
shez
Chris
billy@ATFT
teresa
Simon
…
smileona
Howard
Y
djd421 || 
LOL, sanitised your mouth with beer. Well done you for being so masculine and checking the food for poisonous affects!