Lunch at Toraya Japanese Restaurant – rice pots unite!
On Tuesday of my final week at my old job, I facilitated a workshop at my old office in Subiaco. I simply could not miss my chance to have lunch afterwards at my old lunching haunt, Toraya Sushi (Shop 8 Subiaco Square, 29 Station Street, Subiaco).
I was pleased to see that the waiter who used to serve my workmates and me was still working there, cheerful and friendly as ever. She greeted me warmly and said, “Long time no see!” I was even more chuffed when she remembered my “usual” order – chicken karaage donburi with chilli mayonnaise! Pretty impressive, as I hadn’t been there in over a year! I was so thrilled I grabbed my phone and tweeted as soon as she left the table!
I used to dislike miso soup until I had Toraya’s miso soup. I’m not sure why I liked this miso soup so much it got me drinking the stuff, but I’m glad I did. I especially love the thin threads of tofu skin floating in this soup.
Toraya’s chicken karaage is always served poppingly hot and fresh. The batter is crispy, the marinated chicken tender and juicy. It’s all slathered with lashings of chilli mayonnaise. The “donburi” part refers to the “rice bowl” – deep-fried chicken and rice is just the perfect combo for me, a voracious chicken eater and lifelong rice pot*. This is something I really miss from my days working in Subiaco. I guess it’s a good thing that I now only get the chance to have it once in a while – the temptation to eat this fantastic deep-fried chicken every second day would be just too great if I still worked nearby.
*My mum’s nickname for me as a child was “fun thong”, which translates to “rice pot”. I still can’t go more than a couple of days without eating rice – I miss it terribly if I go for too long without it. In fact, I craved rice terribly towards the end of our recent holiday – we ate delicious food while we were away, but I missed regular rice meals! Jac understood this and made sure our first dinner back home featured rice, and I’ve been eating lots of rice since getting home. My sister Juji is more of a pasta pot. Jac needs bread like I need rice, though since we’ve been together she’s gotten used to eating a lot more rice. What about you guys? “Fun thongs”, stand proud and raise your hands! :-P