Day 5 - Nagoya: Savoring Hitsumabushi at Horaiken (あつた蓬莱軒 本店)

Horaiken was established in 1873 and today it boasts 4 branches. It is famous for Hitsumabushi (gilled eel served in traditional Nagoya style). 

Leaving mom & Beanie at Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, Mitsue and us headed straight to its main branch Atsuta Horaiken to get a table. 

We were prepared to wait... :)

The restaurant has a little courtyard and it eludes a traditional charm. :)

To make the wait worth, we had a wholesome Hitsumabushi set each. :)))

There are 3 ways to savor Hitsumabushi:

1) Scooping some grilled fish and rice from the wooden tub into a smaller bowl and eating them as it is. :)

2) Adding seaweed and wasabi gave it extra crunch and kick. :)

3) Adding tea to the grilled eel & rice and it became a bowl of comforting "porridge". :)

Our dinner was completed with a bowl of soup. :)

After days of fine Japanese cuisine, a simple but flavourful Hitsumabushi was greatly welcomed.

Let's rewind to what we did before our dinner at Horaiken. :) There isn't anything much in the neighbourhood and we were delighted to stumble upon this old school coffee shop. :)

The coffee counter caught our attention! We didn't expect to find drip coffee in the neighbourhood. :)

Black coffee and nuts?

This coffee house isn't fanciful, in fact it's unpretentious. But we weren't complaining. We were contented with a cup of hot black coffee, safe away from the rain and chill. :)

Besides, coffee is really cheap here. :D

Affordable coffee... friendly barista... it's no wonder this coffee house has quite a number of loyal customers. :D

Details of Horaiken (あつた蓬莱軒 本店):
503 Godo-cho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya
T: +81-52-671-8686
W: http://www.houraiken.com/
Directions: 7 minutes walk from No.4 exit of Tenma-cho sta.,Subway Meijo line
                  or take a cab (SGD 45 from Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel)