[click this blog post title to visit their website - www.ichiban.co.uk - image courtesy of ichiban]
Well, I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have never visited Ichiban before, especially as it's just a few streets away from my home. I cling to the notion that it's very proximity is what kept me away... "your own back yard", and all that jazz...
I'm even more red-faced that this local treasure is even better than one of my favourite Japanese eateries, the
The ordering drill is almost identical to Wagamama... you slide into place in a looooooong table (though there are some regular ones - see pic above) with benches either side and start to drool over the long lists of anything-and-everything with (all sorts) of noodles. Rice dishes and sushi are also there to tempt. And for the truly undecided you might be best to plump for a bento box... a lacquered shallow tray divided into neat compartments that presents a work of minimalist culinary art... the "chef's selection" of tastes and textures beautifully accompanied with a spread of little china bowls of saucy things to dip into and generally play with. Fun!
So much so that my lunch guest ordered the self same box of foody tricks in the katsu variety of king prawn, scallops and chicken breast. I couln't be wrestled away from my all time favourite of soup-based chicken chilli ramen; a zinging hot infusion of slender wriggly noodles, kimchi sauce and char-grilled chicken... knee-wobblingly good!
For some westerners the starter/sides blurring is an odd affair. We tried a couple... an ebi gyoza (four deep fried king prawn and pork dumplings filled with cabbage, chinese leaf and leek, served with chili and vinegar sauce) and gyu-niku maki (grilled sirloin steak rolls filled with mushroom and lightly sauteed in garlic, sake wine, onion and soya sauce).
The thing is, it's all a bit of a lottery. Once the individual elements of your group's order are keyed into the little portable handsets (where they are immediately conveyed wirelessly to the kitchen) it's pot luck what will turn up when (aside: I also love their doodling of your order - in numerical form - on each person's paper placemat - great souvenir!)
So try to think more "random banquet" than "starter > main" or even "main with sides". You could easily get just one of the side dishes then a few minutes later one of the main courses, followed by another side dish and wait another five minutes for the final main course. If you are particularly hungry when you arrive, it might be best to order stuff that you can all happily share on arrival at the table, clicking away together with your chop sticks like some demented knitting circle outing.
Ichiban has a plentiful range of drinks many of them traditionally Japanese. So overjoyed was I to have finally stumbled off Dumbarton Road and into Ichiban (with Glasgow's heavens opened onto the streets) that I kicked off with a tapered china jug of hot saki, served into a little egg cup sized china bowl. A wonderful winter warmer. And once the chill was banished I moved onto Japanese beers to wash down the fine food.
You'll have to forgive the plasma-screened music videos on one wall of the main dining room as it really is quite understated by Japanese standards and I actually enjoyed the atmosphere, gently buzzing with people sheltering from the stormy day outside. I think being almost anywhere warm and welcoming inside when the sky is falling about you outside is a treat. But Ichiban was more than just a place to hide today. It was a place for all seasons... and weathers! I'll be back.
Follow the link to their web by clicking on this post title for all the details of their two Glasgow restaurants.
I visited the West End...
184 Dumbarton Road
Glasgow
G11 6UN
tel: 0141 334 9222
And there is a sister restaurant in the City Centre...
50 Queen Street
Glasgow
G1 3DS
tel: 0141 204 4200
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