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| Upon opening the
door, you see the Chinese character “makoto,”
which means “faithful.” This letter symbolizes
what Shin-Sen-Gumi is all about. Shin-Sen-Gumi
was a group of samurai who organized a special
task force during the Edo period in the late 19th
century. The group at its peak had about 300 members
and the word “faithful” was written on their flag.
You feel the spirit of Shin-Sen-Gumi the moment
you step into the restaurant. New customers may
be surprised by the loud raucous cheers of welcome.
When the servers finish taking your order, their
brisk voices ring through the restaurant saying
“Thank you very much!” “Close attention, sensitivity,
and considerate care” are their watchwards. Their
cheerful, genuine and courteous service makes
everyone’s day. “Makoto” can also mean earnest
and sincere. As I think of this, my glass becomes
empty again. |
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| Shin-Sen-Gumi is famous for
their yakitori. The restaurant uses free-range
jidori chicken exclusively. Chickens are prepared
every morning. About one and a half hours before
they open, the restaurant makes sure that the
heat level of the charcoaled wood is just right.
The high quality chickens slowly grilled over
the proper heat have the flavorful essence sealed
in and are very tasty. When you take a bite
of their chicken thigh with green onion, for
instance, the juice oozes out and rich flavor
fills your mouth. Although various chicken parts
on skewers are always excellent, other creative
yakitori are wonderful, too. Enoki mushrooms
wrapped in pork belly is a match made in heaven.
The mild flavor and texture of |
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the enoki enhances the flavors of the delicious
pork belly. And the perilla leaves wrapped in
bacon are very refreshing as well. Grilling
over charcoaled wood is the key to many appetizing
aromas and rich flavors. |
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| Shin-Sen-Gumi serves their
yakitori in the Hakata style. Hakata is a big
city in northern Kyushu where yakitori is always
accompanied by yuzu kosho, sudare sauce, and
chopped cabbage. Add some yuzu kosho to their
special sudare sauce to taste, dip your yakitori
in it and eat. The combination of spicy yuzu
kosho and sour sudare sauce adds depth and perfectly
complements yakitori. Eating some chopped cabbage
in between yakitori courses helps cleanse your
palate. The crispy texture of the cabbage gets
your mouth ready for another skewer of chicken. |
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| As for
chanko-nabe, another special
dish at Shin-Sen-Gumi, the
restaurant carefully makes
preliminary preparations
with each and every ingredient.
A wide variety of carefully
selected ingredients, such
as chicken, clams, shrimps,
tofu, green onions, burdock
roots, and much more, are
all cooked together in one
large ceramic pot: That
is chanko style. Fresh sesame
seeds are roasted as each
order comes in. Customers
grind them at their table
then mix them with some
chanko-nabe in individual
bowls. The freshly roasted
sesame seeds blend into
the broth and make for an
exquisite taste. |
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As you continue eating,
the flavors from the chunks
of meat and vegetables in
turn blend with the broth
and the flavor of the soup
is enhanced. |
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It is hard to stop eating
this wonderful creation.
You can finish up your chanko-nabe
by adding either rice or
udon into the flavorful
broth. Besides chanko-nabe,
Hakata mizutaki is also
highly recommended. The
broth for mizutaki is made
by simmering chicken bones
for 15 hours. The bone marrow
is the secret. The chicken
and cabbage stew cooked
in this broth is delightful.
But try to leave some room
for an order of champon
for the leftover soup. To
finish off mizutaki with
champon and thus fully enjoy
the rich flavor of soup
is Hakata style. |
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| Traditional Japanese
hospitality is integrated into the spirit of chivalry
at Shin-Sen-Gumi. Decency, honesty and fairness
are the basis for their service and cuisine. The
“makoto” spirit underlies the atmosphere of Shin-Sen-Gumi. |
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