Shalom Japan: It's Me, on a Plate!

Last month, my best friend (E) and I ventured out into the outskirts of Willamsburg to try a new restaurant called "Shalom Japan." We are always looking for new places to try and this establishment peaked our interest. Why? Because it is Jewish-Japanese fusion…basically, me on a plate! I've heard of all sorts of cuisine fusions, but this was certainly a first.

I'll admit, Shalom Japan is not necessarily in the nicest of neighborhoods and it's not not a busy street. E and I were a bit nervous that we'd gone the wrong way, but eventually, we found the place.

The restaurant is quite small, but homey. It's got wood tables/chairs and the building is brick. The atmosphere is very laid back and nice. So far, so good.  I was really intrigued by the menu. I was familiar with all of the ingredients, but was truly impressed by how they were incorporated into Jewish dishes. For example, the sake kasu challah. 

I LOOOOOOVE challah. If I had no self control, I could easily decimate an entire challah loaf and not even bat an eyelash. Sake kasu on the other hand, I HATEEEEEE. Sake kasu is a byproduct of sake and is absolutely vile. It smells gross and tastes gross --- whenever my mom uses it, I have to leave the kitchen. Seeing the combo of sake kasu and challah really intrigued me and I was impressed to learn that the sake kasu is incorporated into the challah dough and they are baked together. E and I ordered this of course, and it was absolutely delicious! What a brilliant marriage of Jewish and Japanese! 

The menu

Sake Kasu Challah with Raisin Butter

E and I ordered some chawanmushi, which is a savory Japanese custard and truly traditional Japanese dish. I love chawanmushi. It's probably one of my all time favorite Japanese dishes and whenever I eat Japanese food, I always order it. I am also very spoiled because my mom makes it at home, and her chawanmushi is simply THE BEST! I was a little bit stunned when my chawanmushi came --- it was very elaborate. Normally, you get served what looks like a block of yellow tofu in a small bowl, but this chawanmushi had a lot going on on top. Like my mom's, Shalom Japan's chawanmushi had shrimp, shimeji mushroom. That said, it did not deliver. To me, it tasted quite strange (I think they used a smoked shrimp dashi, which was weird) and I wasn't a fan of the fancy plating. Nice try, but sorry Shalom Japan --- I'm gonna stick with my mom's chawanmushi.

My elaborate chawanmushi.

Although I didn't love the chawanmushi, I really loved the okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is like a "Japanese pizza or pancake" and it super casual. It's fun to make and great for groups. Okonomiyaki basically translates to "grilled food made the way you want it." (Yaki = grill, okonomi = what you want.) I generally love okonomiyaki, but I liked Shalom Japan's okonomiyaki because it was tasty and creative. I loved the use of corned lamb's tongue and sauerkraut (Jewish flavors) combined with the okonomiyai and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) (Japanese flavors). I have nothing bad to say --- absolutely loved this and can't wait to order it again!

Okonomiyaki 

The piece de resistance, I think, was the squab hot pot. Inspired by the traditional Japanese "onabe", this hot pot contained simmer vegetables, glass noodles, and squab. At home, we usually do a seafood nabe, but you can really cook with anything you'd like. This squab was not just delicious, but gorgeous! Seasoned and cooked perfectly! I couldn't stop eating it! Yummmmmm!!!

 Overall, I enjoyed my dinner at Shalom Japan. The food was creative and delicious --- except for the chawanmushi. The service was fantastic, our server was super attentive and nice, and the ambience was great. I'd recommend this place to those of you looking to try something different.