Japanese restaurants have always been associated with the image of solemnity, quietness and extremely rules. And in the minds of many people, Japanese food is only sushi, sashimi, ramen noodles... but they do not know that Japanese food is much more than that. Follow Travellive to learn about 03 modern Izakaya-style Japanese restaurants with extremely special dishes.
Izakaya - the modern beauty of cultural exchange
Izakaya is a type of restaurant that serves dinner, parties, and after-work drinking. Izakaya is extremely popular in Japan because of its "popularization" and focus on the comfort and enjoyment of diners instead of keeping the old rules of a Japanese restaurant. Izakaya restaurants often have quite modern, Westernized designs. Sometimes, some restaurants keep classic designs.
Office workers in Japan often choose Izakaya-style bars to hang out and drink after work.
Not only selling regular food, these eateries also focus on serving cold beer, sake, spirits, soft drinks with the spirit of "stress relief" for customers who have faced too much pressure in work and life. Because of this, a common point of Izakaya restaurants is that they are noisy, busy and bustling, no less than any other drinking place.
As for the food here, Izakaya focuses on serving grilled dishes (yaku/yakiniku), stir-fried dishes (itameru), hot pot dishes (nabe) and are usually served in large plates. Each diner in the group who wants to eat will scoop a portion of food from the plate and put it on their own small plate (torizara) to eat.
Izakaya pubs are often located in small alleys in Japan.
Izakaya restaurants serve a variety of foods. Some places may focus on serving their strong dishes such as fish, meat or specialties that they have. The rest will be basic, familiar dishes that any Izakaya-style restaurant has such as raw fish (sashimi), Japanese-style grilled chicken skewers (toriyaki), boiled soybeans (edamame), stir-fried soba noodles (yakisoba) and hot pot (nabe)... Izakaya is also a typical example of cultural exchange when it sells many Western-style dishes such as chips, fried chicken...
A unique feature of Izayaka is that they sell a wide variety of alcohol. The two most popular are sake and Sapporo beer (a traditional beer from the Hokkaido region of Japan). Plum wine (umeshu), soda, and rice wine (shochu) are also very popular.
Suggestions for 03 Izakaya-style restaurants in Hanoi
Kanko Izakaya - bring music shows to meals
This restaurant located on Ly Thuong Kiet street has a very unique bustle that cannot be found anywhere else. Not just a simple Izakaya, this place also combines many different programs besides enjoying dinner.
Kanko often hold games to attract customers. Pictured is a Japanese-style sake pouring game.
The restaurant opens from 12 noon to 2 pm and 6 pm to 12 am on weekdays except Sundays, with music shows becoming a specialty. The restaurant regularly invites famous rappers and singers to liven up the already bustling atmosphere. And with a DJ playing music every night, Kanko Izakaya has created a rather impressive "drinking" space. In addition, special games such as card drawing, soy bean picking, and the challenge of "eating a mega-sized bowl of ramen in 20 minutes to win a prize of 1 million" also attract customers to organize parties or simply gather with friends.
A small downside of the restaurant is that it closes quite early in the evening compared to other Izakaya restaurants. The menu here also includes familiar Japanese dishes such as California Sushi, stewed ramen, and Karaage chicken (a famous “snack” chicken dish of the land of the rising sun).
Izakaya Yancha - a restaurant serving seasonal ingredients
Located on the lovely Trieu Viet Vuong street, Yancha impresses with its small, somewhat closed and modest appearance, but is extremely vibrant inside.
The restaurant is open every day of the week, focusing on serving more Japanese customers. Still maintaining the characteristics of a true Izakaya restaurant, Yancha emphasizes some unique features of the restaurant such as focusing on the element of "seasonal dishes". This is a feature that makes the restaurant more Japanese than ever, no matter how bustling and noisy the exterior is, the menu is always put first.
Exterior view of Yancha restaurant.
The dishes served here are usually sashimi, beef hot pot Sukiyaki and Tempura (traditional fried food). One downside of Yancha is that the menu and service style are too Japanese, which will not create an open, liberal feeling like many other Izakaya restaurants.
Izakaya Hanzo - a typical Japanese drinking place
Izakaya Hanzo is located in an alley on the small, quiet Linh Lang street. Hanzo is a “legendary” drinking place for Japanese office workers to stop by after stressful overtime hours. The restaurant opens until 3am with a focus on serving a variety of alcoholic beverages.
Hanzo is like a miniature bar with a wide variety of attractive wines and beers. The dishes here are also extremely delicious and beautiful.
The alcohol here is mostly Sapporo beer and traditional sake. At the counter, a variety of alcohol with fancy labels are displayed, making the restaurant an impressive miniature bar. Although it sells a lot of alcohol, the food is also served carefully and thoughtfully with "special" Japanese-style drinking dishes such as stir-fried octopus beard, grilled chicken skewers, stir-fried chicken with spicy vegetables and other familiar dishes such as ramen noodles, hot pot...
Here, the restaurant focuses on the grilled menu more than other Izakaya restaurants. One downside is that the food retains the Japanese taste, which may not be suitable for many Vietnamese people.
Hopefully, through the 3 suggestions above, readers can learn more about a new type of dining that is very popular in Japan, a place with a vibrant space and like a "miniature Japan" in the heart of the city.
