Ha Noi serves up some Japanese soul food

Ha Noi serves up some Japanese soul food

If your idea of Japanese food is just over-priced sushi, Cafe Mot may surprise you with its hearty, rib-sticking and inexpensive fare. Vida Karabuva fills up.

My favourite Japanese meal was eaten in a semi-rural village an hour’s train journey from Tokyo on a freezing March night several years ago.

My host’s hands, callused and blackened from farm work, moved quickly to grill fish and arrange the condiments.

The meal consisted of many small simple dishes; dried and grilled fish, tofu, beans, pickled radish, rice and seaweed salad, that together formed a complex and very satisfying journey for the senses.

That night I gorged myself until I could eat no more, and to my delight the exact same meal was served to me for breakfast the next day, just before I was due to leave Japan.

Whether it was my hunger, the cold, the fresh country air, or simply that it was the last meal I ate in Japan, that simple homestyle spread stuck in my mind as one of the best.

I have eaten countless Japanese meals since then, in hip sushi bars, high-class hotel restaurants and even small Japanese working-class eateries, but none have come close to offering my soul the same sort of comfort. I had even started to imagine that the old woman’s hands, covered in soil and dirt for the better part of every day, had somehow infused the goodness of the earth into the food, and I would never eat a meal like that again.

So imagine my surprise when I came close to reclaiming that sense of reassurance in a small, nondescript Japanese eatery in a back street of Ha Noi.

Apart from a the street — in fact it’s a wonder I found it.

Inside the decor is classic but unremarkable, reminiscent of countless office-worker lunch joints in inner-city Tokyo, except for the walls of Japanese books, magazines and comics. If you are a die-hard manga fan, this is the place to head.

But what it lacks in interior design finesse, Cafe Mot more than makes up for in food. This is wholesome, belly-warming, homestyle Japanese comfort food at its best, served with little fanfare but packed with authentic flavours.

My first meal at Cafe Mot was at lunch time on a gloomy, rainy Hanoi autumn’s day. Arriving well before my lunch partner, I had time to perthe menu and noted that all my favourites were there – prawn tempura; udon, hot and cold; Japanese curries; Japanese-style pork cutlets and potato croquets.

There were also some interesting additions, such as the Kushicatsu Set, with deep-fried pork, chicken and beef skewers served with salad, miso soup and a bean dish for VND70,000.

In fact, no food item on the menu was more than VND70,000, and for those really dining on a budget there were curry dishes served with rice for VND50,000 and club sandwiches starting at just VND25,000.

The most expensive item on the menu is the Mugi Tairiku liquor at VND240,000 for a bottle.

Notably missing from the menu is sushi, but for Westerners not fully initiated in this cuisine – there is a lot more to Japanese food than sushi.

My dining partner finally arrived and we decided to order the Prawn Tempura Udon (VND50,000) and the Japanese (VND70,000) to share, with a side of Japanese-style potato salad – a steal at VND15,000. The restaurant also does a green salad with an impressive array of crunchy greens, including broccoli, for the same price.

I inquired if the meat dish in the Japanese could be replaced with a second seafood dish, and the staff obliged with a smile.

We then sat back with some complimentary iced green teas and a couple of manga comics, to wait for our meal to arrive.

While our waitress had been keen for us to order, the food actually took a while to come out. But when it did, it was well worth the wait.

The steaming bowl of Udon was adorned with two massive tempura prawns in a delicately sweet and nutty soy broth.

The Japanese was a lot to take in too, with its little bowls of boiled radish with squid, fried tofu, pickled vegetables, miso soup, rice, green beans served with sesame sauce (a real highlight), and a sizeable piece of grilled fish. Each dish had its own flavour, texture and aroma, offering a unique sensory experience.

The potato salad too, arrived in a large bowl, not the miniature type of saucer most side orders of salad are served on in Ha Noi, and it was one of the best I’ve had.

All together it was a remarkable spread, and far too much food for the two of us to finish. While my partner chickened-out halfway through, I bravely kept on eating and was rewarded with that sublime sense of having eaten an elaborate, hearty meal, without feeling heavy and bloated – which is one of my favourite aspects of Japanese dining.

We finished off our meals with simple Vietnamese iced coffees at VND10,000, but could have also opted for a Frappeccino or Mocha for VND15,000. The restaurant also does banana and mango shakes at the bargain basement price of VND15,000 and beers range from VND15,000-20,000.

A couple of hours later, I emerged onto Bui Thi Xuan Street with an extra little spring in my step, radiating satisfaction, and for the rest of that day, nothing could take the shine off my mood — not even getting soaked in the rain. It is amazing how really good food has the power to reconstitute you.

To top it all off, my little trip into nostalgia had barely cost me a dime — just over US$10 for food and drinks for two.

As I left the restaurant, I gave owner Ao Masataka a friendly little nod and he invited me to come back again soon. It’s an offer I will definitely take him up on.

For wholesome, homestyle Japanese comfort food that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, make your way to Cafe Mot.