ottawa foodies

Oh noooo! I'm so sad to hear this :( Does anyone have any more news?? I'm hoping they've reopened somewhere but it's probably more likely they've retired.

Ramen is the latest in thing. Don't confuse it with Mr. Noodle... :)

NOOOOOOOOOOOO. My guess is new owners. There's a new sign/new name and they'll be serving RAMEN. Bye Ichibei, I shall miss you greatly :(

Sign in window: "New Restaurant Coming Soon - Closed for renovations"

Looking inside, it's pretty much emptied of tables and everything.

Exeunt Ichibei. Sniff. Anyone know if it'll be the same people under a new name, or even still Japanese?

To further comment on Pam's March 4 photo of the Kamikaze Ichibei maki: I've had it twice, and both were amazing.

- Spicy salmon prepared fresh with a bit of two different types of hot sauces (the ubiquitous bottle in pho places, and another I couldn't identify)
- tempura flakes
- some vegetable I coulnd't identify to fill the roll
- BIG roll
- topped with 2 big freshly-grilled eels, and sauce on top
- $16, but it's nearly a meal on its own

With their gyoza ($7 for 6 big pieces) and four nigiri (2 of yellowtail and tamago), and green tea, it's a full meal for me. Total with tax and tip was $48. I really shouldn't stop by often, but that quality...

Not as affordably priced as Genji for lunch, but still some of the best sushi I've had in Ottawa.
Very fresh, high quality fish.

The inside of the restaurant is comfortable and intimate -- nice for a date -- with charming decor and kind staff.

I love this place too! It has the best Japanese in Ottawa that I've discovered so far.

Ichibei has long been a favourite of ours, and Caroline being sansei Japanese, she has pretty high standards.

And since the discussion has raised the question, ZenKitchen also carries Umeshu, as well as mugi- and imo- shochu.

Well Pam, from what I can see, Umeshu is Umeshu, but there's bottles with and bottles without the plums in them. I like the ones with plums. I don't know if there's a terminology difference.

(There's one other place that has umeshu rokku, but it's not on the menu, only for the staff. Who have occasionally given me some. I go there way too often. :))

Thanks to Pam, I went back to Ichibei for sushi tonight.

Small Rolls:

Ume-kyu - marinated plums and cucumber. Oh my. Oh my. This was an amazing mix of flavours that just made my brain sing. Not for everyone, but man oh man, if it is, wow.

Negitoro - sweet onion and tuna belly. Unctuous texture, yummy-fatty. Excellent with the rice.

Sashimi:

Suzuki - Sea bass, with a nice but not overly-large piece of wasabi keeping it to the rice. it gave a kick yet also enhanced the flavour of the bass, the texture wonderful, and the portion generous - trailing to the bottom of the rice on both sides.

Unagi - traditional eel, well-cooked, probably too much sauce for many. Maybe next time I'll ask for nearly no sauce, it didn't seem to need any. (They make a spicy salmon roll topped with unagi that's big and looks wonderful. Next time!)

Sashimi:

Tai - Red snapper, not the least bit chewy, feels quite fresh in the mouth, cool but no trace of ice cold or crystals (to my admittedly amateur mouth). The tiniest drop of soja sauce brings out the flavour really well.

Saba - Mackerel, with skin, and oh, a tiny couple of traces of wasabi along with the bits of onion sprinkled on it makes it delicious. Less mouth-melting, the firmer texture made a great contrast with the Tai.

Total cost with tea: $43. Expensive, and I didn't eat my fill, but it's more than enough for a meal, healthy and nutritious, and pretty darn nice quality.

Oh, the cold saké is either the bland Hakutsuru junmai ginjo, or a ginjo that's non-junmai - i.e. has brewer's alcohol added at the end. Not worth my $15.

Hey Niall! Awesome! I was actually going to add umeshu as a connection :D What is the difference between plum wine and umeshu?

I introduced my dining companions to it last week - they were huge fans as well. Umeshu rokku was my drink of choice in Tokyo this January and I was so happy to find a place in Ottawa that has it!

Here's a sushi plate from Ichibei. My favourites are unagi (BBQ eel), mackerel (saba) and tuna (maguro maybe?).

More Ichibei sushi. God this makes me hungry!

A sampling of sushi from Ichibei, again from 2001.

Here's some delicious sukiyaki from Ichibei. It's served with a raw egg that you crack at the table in a little bowl. It's for coating the sukiyaki pieces. Then you eat the egg-coated morsels with a bowl of white rice. At first I was hesitant to eat raw egg, but it's the authentic way, and you just got to live dangerously sometimes!

Oh, and that's my sake-containing Tanuki (Japanese raccoon) posing with the food.

I'm a natto fanatic and have tried mixing natto with a variety of things: dijon mustard, peanut butter, yogurt . . . .

Mixing with yogurt completely removes the natto taste and smell. Not good if you like natto, but given that natto is very healthy to consume, it would make it palatable for those that don't (like natto).

Natto are fermented soy beans. They are essentially half decomposed by bacteria! They are coated with a slippery, cheesy, stringy sauce. They don't smell very good at first whiff. But they are an acquired taste, so if you keep trying them, you, too, will eventually grow to love natto. I know a person who loves them so much, he maintains a natto stash in his freezer! This natto is from Ichibei, and it comes with tuna, which is a very nice combination.

Here are Ichibei's Japanese pickled vegetables. The pink ones are cucumber, the purple ones are eggplant and the yellow pickle is of daikon, a member of the radish family that looks like a giant, white carrot. As usual, my little tanuki is presiding over my delicious appetizer.