Torikai: Try TKG, So Simple and Yet So Good

Japan is one of the largest consumers of eggs, so it's not surprising that you can find the most simplest of egg dishes in a restaurant. Really, TKG, or tamago-kake-gohan is something you can easily eat at home. All you need is a fresh egg and some steamed rice. Beat the raw egg with a bit of soy sauce, pour over the rice, and voila, you now have a traditional Japanese dish. Despite how simple it is, the richness of the yolk is brought out so nicely with the salty soy sauce and sweetness of the rice; a perfect match.

At Torikai, you can get a TKG teishoku (set meal) with a 'special' egg that comes from the renowned brand of chicken in Nagoya called Cochin. The meat of the chicken as well as the egg yolks supposedly have a richer flavour compared to a regular chicken, and so meat from these chickens go for a slightly higher price. What I liked about this simple meal was that it came with other sides making it a well-balanced meal; chicken kara-age (fried) and steamed chicken (chilled, with a light yuzu sauce, unfortunately not Cochin), a salad, hijiki salad (a type of seaweed), and condiments to go with the TKG such as Japanese pickles and nori tsukudani (seaweed paste with a sweet soy sauce flavour). It was also not expensive being just over 1000 yen. Maybe it was my imagination, but I really did feel that the Cochin egg yolk was richer than a normal egg!

This Torikai at the Sakae location had an open seating space with a large view of the Sakae area from the 7th floor. It wasn't too busy at 1pm, so I felt like I could take my time. The restaurant may be known more for their Cochin oyako-don (simmered chicken and egg over rice), and their tebasaki (fried and seasoned chicken wings), both labelled as Nagoya fare, but I've gone to two different locations and have ordered the same set each time. Next time I will try the signature dishes...

Esca location (underground shopping area on the shinkansen side of Nagoya Station):

Here, doteni (beef tendon simmered in a thick red miso sauce), also considered Nagoya fare, was served instead of the steamed chicken.

Tamago-Kake-Gohan teishoku at the La Chic location

Restaurant: Torikai 鳥開

Area: Various locations (this one is by Sakae Station 栄, in the La Chic building, 7th floor)

Website and Map: http://www.tori-kai.com/shop/lachic.html

Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-11pm, open on holidays