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紀尾井町 三谷 Mitani Kioicho
Add: 3F Kioicho Terrace, 1-3 Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6256-9566
Hours: lunch and dinner
Price: ~32,000 yen
Visited: Sep 2018
There are certain sushi restaurants in Tokyo that are simply impossible to book, such as Yotsuya Mitani. This tiny 9-seat sushi bar serves dinner only, and the next opening – even if you are introduced by a frequent customer – is apparently 2 years away. Fortunately for those who are eager to get a taste of what Mitani is about, a sister restaurant was opened two years ago in Kioicho. While dinner reservations here also need to be made months in advance, lunch is much easier…(reservation available via pocketconcierge.com)
東京有一些永遠訂不到的壽司店，四ツ谷的三谷（Yotsuya Mitani）就是其中一家。這小小的9人座壽司吧只有晚餐營業，不僅必須通過介紹人才能預約，而且即是如此都要等到兩年後才有位子，是個不可能的任務。不過兩年多前三谷在紀尾井町開了分店，雖然晚餐的訂位也是要到好幾個月後了，但是午餐顯然比較容易，朋友順利幫我訂到了位子。
Mitani Kioicho is larger than the original restaurant, with a bar that seats 12 and a private room that accomodates 4-6. I went by myself for lunch, and was seated at the corner to be served by head chef Takano-san (the gentleman in glasses in the photo below).
紀尾井町三谷比本店要大一些，吧台可以坐12個人，還有個4-6人的包廂。我一人前往，被安排在吧台轉角的位子，由總店長高野博幸先生（下圖帶眼鏡這一位）服務。
If I understood his Japanese correctly, Takano-san had been working with Mitani-san for years in another restaurant before Mitani Yotsuya opened. After yet a few more years together at Mitani Yotsuya, Takano-san was entrusted with the responsibility of heading up the sister restaurant when it opened two years ago. Bonus point: not only is Takano-san chatty and all smiles, he also speaks some English so no worries if you don’t understand Japanese.
如果我日文理解沒有錯誤的話，高野師傅在三谷師傅開店前就和他一起工作多年，稱他爲自己的 “master”。後來在四ツ谷三谷工作數年後，來到在紀尾井町三谷擔任店長一職，是位功力紮實、非常健談的一位壽司師傅，聊天時總是笑容滿面。他會說一些簡單的英語，完全不會日語的食客也不需要太擔心。
First came a clear soup of clams with uni from Rishiri Island, Hokkaido. Naturally sweet and full of umami, a most charming start to a meal.
首先上的是蛤蜊清湯和北海道利尻島的海膽，鮮甜至極。
Next came two pieces of ruby red bonito, the skin slightly torched for an extra layer of fragrance.
接著是擁有如紅寶石般美麗色澤的鲣魚刺身，皮的那一側微微炙烤過，引出香氣。
Sanma from Nemuro, Hokkaido, with a sauce made from its liver.
北海道根室市的秋刀魚，搭配魚肝做成的醬。
A gentle and soothing soup made from the meat and roe of Hokkaido hairy crabs.
北海道的毛蟹肉和蟹黃羹湯，溫柔細致。
Next came shark fin with chopped tuna, which posed quite a challenge for me…Lesson learned – specify no shark fin next time when asked if I have any allergies or things I don’t eat.
接下來這道魚翅佐金槍魚泥有點尴尬。我平時是不吃的魚翅的，但用餐前高野師傅詢問我是否有過敏或者不吃的東西時，我完全沒有想到魚翅…都端到眼前了也不好意思退掉，只好提醒自己下次要事先說明。
Uni rice with salmon roe broth. Uni + salmon roe broth + sushi rice = pure bliss.
海膽拌飯佐三文魚子湯，這是吃了會感動的鮮美，請想象一下…海膽…壽司飯…三文魚子湯…
Next came the nigiri sushi. Do note that at Mitani, the sushi is usually placed directly in the customer’s hand, but I had requested the chef to use the wooden plate for photography purposes. First up: white shrimp.
接下來，就是握壽司了。在三谷，師傅會將握好的壽司直接放到客人手裏而非盤子上，但因爲我想拍照才特別請他將壽司放在木盤子上。第一貫：白蝦。
White squid.
第二貫：白烏賊。
Sea bream.
第三貫：真鲷。
Akami marinated in soy sauce, unbelievably soft.
第四貫：醬油腌制過的金槍魚赤身，柔滑到令人難以置信。
Slightly torched otoro. Surprisingly, the texture was not melt-in-the-mouth as expected, but rather sturdy (in a good way).
第五貫：稍微炙烤過的金槍魚大脂，沒有肥膩感，而且肉質不是想象中的入口即化，反而厚實而有嚼勁。
Kohada.
第六貫：小肌魚。
Sardine.
第七貫：油脂豐富的沙丁魚。
Hard clam.
第八貫：文蛤蜊。
And finally, amadai. Since this fish is extremely tender and falls apart very easily, Takano-san asked me to take a photo of it in his hand rather than on the wooden plate. That incredibly tender texture! An amazing end to the procession of nigiri sushi.
最後一貫：紅睦魚。由于這款魚肉處理過後非常軟嫩，一放下就會散開，所以高野師傅讓我直接在他手裏拍照。入口時那柔軟的口感和鮮美的滋味！由這一貫作爲握壽司的結尾，太棒了。
After the nigiri sushi came the makis, starting with the otoro.
握壽司後，是金槍魚卷。
Then, a kampyo maki (dried shavings of calabash), two wrapped with fried tofu skin and one left as is so I could try both flavors (but actually, they were both way too salty for my appreciation…)
以及包了炸豆皮的干瓢卷（高野師傅特別留了一個沒有包豆皮，讓我嘗到兩種風味…不過老實說兩個對我來說都太鹹了）。
Then, a most charming tamagoyaki (look at all the layers!)
一枚美好的玉子燒（層層堆疊的蛋皮！）
The meal ended with a sweet and sour pickled plum.
以酸甜的糖漬梅子結束這一餐。
This meal at Mitani Kioicho was truly superb, but it doesn’t come cheap – lunch and dinner are both priced at around 32,000 yen, and wine pairing will cost you extra (I didn’t try this as I had a cocktail tasting scheduled right after lunch…but judging from what I saw on the table, there are some really nice bottles here). Sure it’s expensive, but considering that Shanghai now has some random sushi shop charging 2000 RMB for a meal, I’d much rather spend that money in Tokyo.
紀尾井町三谷的料理非常精彩，當然價格也不菲，午餐和晚餐一樣都是 32,000 日元左右。雖然昂貴，不過老實說上海現在也有不少隨便開價就是 2000 人民幣的壽司店，相較之下，我更願意在東京吃。
Note：紀尾井町三谷有餐酒搭配，除了清酒之外（看到好多瓶十四代），也有不少厲害的葡萄酒。我由于午餐之後還約了 cocktail tasting 所以沒有配酒，有興趣的人，可以了解一下。
Mitani Kioicho
地址：千代田區 紀尾井町 1-2 紀尾井テラス 3F
電話：+81-3-6256-9566
營業時間：午間 晚間皆可
價位：約 32,000 日幣
日期：2018年9月