Shokudo Kuishimbo

Review

The little glutton

Photo: Heribert Corn It's definitely not a laughing matter to come across a Japanese food fight in culinary circles. I've often observed and gotten into such conflicts - there really are more amusing things than the clash of dogmas as to what is considered worthy Japanese food. Japanologists are very strict about this, especially when it comes to non-Japanologists, but one name that has won the approval of even the most hardened dogmatists, even those who would never read Murakami in their lives or eat sushi in Austria because they don't sour the rice properly, is Kuishimbo: a tiny little snack bar of refreshingly simple ugliness, founded by pianist Hiroko Numata and her husband Yoshihiro in 2003 because they missed the food from home so much.
And their home is Kyoto, which is why the Kuishimbo - the word means "gluttonous" and is used as a term of endearment for small children with a blessed appetite (I hope the Japanologists agree with me now ...) - then there were things like korokke, the typical Kyoto croquettes, or okonomiyaki, an endlessly rich meat, cabbage and mayonnaise omelette, fantastic ramen or some fabulously good seaweed and tang salads, the likes of which you can't get anywhere else in Austria.
His son Keisuke Numata soon got into the Kuishimbo business, and a few months ago it was announced that he wanted to take over the former Finkh in Esterházygasse and turn it into a second Kuishimbo. And he succeeded: here, too, there is a certain will to design simplicity, here, too, the menu is surprisingly large, here, too, you can eat so insanely well and drink an Asahi or a Kirin with it. The menus on offer are a good choice for the very cautious (and those who have never argued with Japanologists), there is well-prepared meat or fish with salad, rice and miso soup.
The Japan experts start with the starters, ideally all 16 of them, including such delights as horenso, marinated spinach with sesame, kinpira gobo, black salsify with carrots, okra with a special sauce, hijiki, a fantastic salad of black seaweed with pieces of deep-fried tofu, or mozuku, a salad of brown seaweed with the umami wonder sauce ponzu (€ 5), which is not particularly beautiful but tastes all the more magnificent.
Or grilled, finely crumbled stint fish that you eat with head and foot (€ 5.50), or Nasu no Agebitashi, an incredible dish of oven-roasted eggplants that are then marinated in dashi stock (€ 4.50). There's no okonomiyaki here, that'll kill the Japanologists, but at least it leaves more room for everything else. Summary: The best smallest Japanese restaurant in Vienna has got an offshoot. With seats and evening business, but without okonomiyaki. Kuishimbo 6th, Esterházyg. 12, Tel. 0699/17 20 12 35, Tue-Sat 5pm-24pm

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