A note on the words: oden is a winter stew of skewered odds and ends — fish cake, tendon, root vegetables — simmered slowly in broth. Hanpen is a soft, spongy cake of pureed fish; the kuro-hanpen of Shizuoka is the gray-black kind made with whole oily fish. Dashi-ko is a powder of dried fish and seaweed you shake over the top. Otoshi is the small appetizer you are served and charged for on arrival — it is not a scam, it is the cover charge. Shirasu are tiny whitebait, and sukimi is the tuna scraped from around the bones; chutoro is the medium-fatty cut. Shichimi is a seven-spice chili blend, and a dagashiya is an old-fashioned penny-candy shop. “Umaizura” is the dish’s own name, built on a regional way of saying “tasty, isn’t it.”
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Roman on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
So, this is Hangover Meshi. An evening in Shizuoka means oden, of course. Shizuoka oden, as they call it. Apparently there is even a definition.
The five articles of Shizuoka oden
• it contains kuro-hanpen
• the broth is black (beef tendon)
• everything is on skewers
• you sprinkle it with aonori seaweed and dashi-ko
• you find it at the dagashiya candy shop
That is how it goes. And the zone where the good old-fashioned oden shops are packed in together is Aoba Oden Gai.
This is the entrance, and the mood is fantastic. Something of a Golden Gai feel, with small shops lined up one after another — really lovely.
The place we dropped into this time is one toward the back called “Roman“! The owner gives you a warm welcome and chats away about all sorts of things. You are sitting close to the customers next to you as well, so there is a nice, everyone-together buzz about it.
We ordered it more or less on a whim, but this sukimi of chutoro tuna is delicious…! It apparently only comes in on Fridays and Saturdays, so it is quite a rare thing.
Now then, chatting with the owner, we had him recommend things and send them out one after another.
For oden, beef tendon and kuro-hanpen. The beef tendon is so tender — delicious! The broth is black but not strongly salty; it is a gentle soup. The depth is a little different from ordinary oden, though — perhaps because the dashi is built mainly on beef tendon. Give it a quick dusting of dashi-ko and it turns even more flavorful, perfect with a drink!
This one is not in the black broth but a white one: shirasu hanpen. The shirasu really comes through, a new texture and delicious. A touch of ginger adds a fresh note to the flavor of the shirasu, better still!
Another recommendation, the sakura shrimp croquette. Bite in and the fragrance of shrimp spreads right through your mouth. This one is good too. I wish the convenience stores would carry it!
And these are the chicken wings, another house specialty. Quite meaty and large wings. There is a good amount to eat on them, so they feel substantial. The firm hit of pepper goes beautifully with the sweet-savory tare! Crisp skin and plump, juicy meat — how good is that!
And this, believe it or not, is the Umaizura udon, limited to six servings a day. Udon made with the oden broth, with an egg dropped in, eaten with shichimi chili blended with sakura shrimp, they say. Glad I came early! Six servings a day is going to run out in no time, ha. Well, it uses a fair amount of the oden broth, so they probably cannot put out very many. First a mouthful as it is, and the soup lands with a wallop of savor. Not the small amount of broth clinging to the oden — drinking it properly, it is delicious all over again. A deep beef broth with a hint of sweetness to it. The udon has a soft, plump sort of texture and is, I think, ordinary udon, but it has been sitting in the soup so the flavor seeps out of it! Delicious!!
Add the sakura shrimp shichimi partway through and the aroma of shrimp broth joins in, turning it into something a little different. The chili heat gives the sweetish soup a crisp edge! Delicious.
So, I paid a visit to Roman in Aoba Oden Gai, and every single item was superb. I barely chose anything myself — I just ordered whatever the owner recommended — and he put together a wonderfully balanced run of dishes right through to the closing bowl, which made me happy, ha. Even if it is your first time with Shizuoka oden, or you are a visitor from abroad, come to Roman and the owner will genially introduce you to all sorts of things, so I think you will have a good time! A fine place!
Roman (Oden / Shizuoka Station, Shin-Shizuoka Station, Hiyoshicho Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
