With great trepidation, I brought home a small-sized portion of Ebisu’s vegetarian Yakisoba—stir fried noodles with mixed veggies. Dusting off the fibers from the wooden chopsticks I opened the takeaway box to see a glutton-sized portion of saucy noodles inundated with cabbage, onion, carrot, bell-peppers and spring onion. The typical sweet yet spicy Otafuku Yakisoba sauce immediately transported me to that gourmand’s realm of higher consciousness. While my taste buds were having a party, I was drifting in and out of memories.
My first encounter with delicious Japanese food began with Teriyaki Bowl—an Americanized Japanese joint right in BYU’s cafeteria (my undergrad university in Utah). As I experimented with J-food in Provo, Salt Lake City and New York, I moved away from westernized spicy-chicken rice bowls to fall deeply and irreparably in love with delicately fried tempura, lettuce with Japanese mayonnaise, and of course, Japanese sushi.
Although Japan has its singular and unique food, its cuisine has been influenced by Korea, China and Portugal through trade and religion. Buddhism turned the Japanese into a predominantly sea-food eating nation barring meat like monkey and cattle from daily meals.
After the influence of the Tang and Heian dynasties, Japanese food in its modern avatar contains spices like miso (fermented soy, rice or barley), vinegar, soy sauce, dried seaweed (aonori), shredded ginger (beni shoga) and fish flakes( katsubushi); and is served grilled, simmered or steamed.
Ebisu’s fare is less complicated—it has Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and Yakisoba (noodles) in vegetarian, seafood and chicken varieties. The most impressive thing about my Yakisoba preparation was the flavorful and aromatic sauce. Curiosity got the better of me and I researched to find out just what makes the sauce so hot and so caramel-ly.
Ebisu’s Vegetarian Yakisoba beckons... To make your own, try this link: http://www.otafukufoods.com/recipes/yakisoba/howtocook.htm
Turns out the Otafuku Yakisoba sauce is the eastern version of the Worchester sauce where fruit and vegetable purées (tomato, onion, orange, apple, dates, garlic and celery) as well as sugar, salt, vinegar and loads of other mysterious spices commingle to make this noodle sauce a sheer delight. By the end of the meal, I blew my nose twice, cried exactly two tears, and patted my satisfying-convex tummy.
Ok, I admit it: I asked for the dish to be made extra spicy—it was an option on the menu card, al right? I have yet to try the Okonomiyaki, and maybe this time I’ll live on the edge and give the non-vegetarian a try!
One of the two Japanese restaurants in Hyderabad, Ebisu disappoints in that it isn’t a dine-in. It occupies a permanent stall in the Cinemax food court and instead of sitting on hard-backed steel in the cafeteria, I recommend carting the food away to be enjoyed on the comfort of your own hard-backed chair.
EbisuVerdict: I say, try it.
MoneyMatters: The cheapest dish is Rs. 150 and the most expensive is Rs. 350.
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