The East is fed
Looking for high-end Japanese food? Just save up and head to Ogino
in Beverley says a very impressed Dave Lee.
When I first visited I found the menu a little hard to navigate, mainly because there was little explanation of the dishes so diners had to wait for staff (usually Reiko) to talk you through the dishes. Even after you’d decided what to wanted, it was still hard to discern how much to order. All this has been sorted. The menu is more concise and clear and appetizing. There wasn’t an option that didn’t sound as good as the last.
After a couple of Japanese beers and nibbles of edamame and picked cucumber in soy, mirin, garlic, chilli bean and honey we had duck go-za (dumplings made with Leven duck served with chilli plum sauce and roasted miso garlic paste) and beef tataki, which is carpaccio beef fillet. I’m something of a dumpling junkie and these were as good as they come. Sometimes you eat a whole dumpling and then worry for a moment you’ve taken on too much but then you bite into the soft, crispy dough and the flavour of the meat bursts out then the savoury dip hits your palate and you don’t care that your mouth is over-stuffed you just have to start chomping on it and your shoulders drop because it’s so good and life feels perfect.
Amazingly, the tataki was possibly even better. Every carpaccio needs perfect meat and something to complement and enhance it. This had wonderfully tender British beef and the perfect balance of subtle, strong, sweet and savoury accompaniments in the form of mango and green chilli salsa, sweet soy, sesame oil, red onion and garlic chips. And it was beautifully presented. Folds of meat with ripples of thin onion, mounds of mango and dollops and dashes of pastes and thickened liquids. Just fabulous looking.
Ogino also offer superb sushi and sashimi. All made fresh in the kitchen and generously-portioned. We tried a few as a middle course and I can recommend the crunchy spider crab, gyu-maki (beef ) and winter snow, which features tuna, salmon and snow crab. I’d also moved onto the sake by this point as well. A selection of three