Shiki

Shiki may be in the heart of historic Norwich, but with its simple un-cushioned benches, bare tables, bamboo blinds and laid-back vibe it could be an izakaya in downtown Kanazawa. Order your Kirin beer or smooth Urakasumi sake, and snack on edamame beans and Japanese pickles while you wait for your dishes to arrive (not long, service is prompt). You might choose familiar donburi bowls (maybe rice with grilled eel and kabayaki sauce alongside miso soup and pickles), noodles (soba or udon) with seafood or beef, the ever-popular chicken katsu curry and salmon teriyaki, or even a generous bento box. Pork, sliced, pan-fried and served with ginger and softened onions kicked off an exploration of chef Shun’s otsumami (small plates) line-up, swiftly followed by fried aubergine (its skin glossed with stickily sweet red miso), then delicately savoury chicken yakitori. The pork gyoza have a local following all of their own, it seems. Rich unagi (eel) is grilled and laid over subtly vinegared rice pressed into an oblong to become a star of the nigiri selection, though meltingly soft otoro, the prized fatty tuna from the belly of the fish, is hard on the eel’s heels. So too are tender octopus, butterflied amaebi (sweet shrimp), and tuna-like hamachi. Pickled ginger, soy and wasabi punch layers of flavour into each mouthful, and nori wraps add some umami deliciousness. Desserts aren’t really a thing here – more likely is a shot of Japanese single malt – although palate-cleansing mooli hosomaki makes a fresh finale.