2016/07/11
Shizuka is quite a famous place to have traditional Kamameshi in Nara. We read many blogs raving about it so my mom insisted we try it out.
Kamameshi is generally Japanese rice cooked in an iron pot mixed with various vegetables, meat, and seafood.
This location is about a 5-10 minute walk away from Nara Park, so it's fairly close.
Decor
The exterior of the building is very clean and white with accents of stone and a wooden plaque of the restaurant's name.
You can tell from these yellow poles the place gets really busy during dining time, it was a good idea for us to come in the early afternoon instead.
The restaurant looked quite big from the outside, but there actually weren't that many seats. The whole atmosphere was kind of like a family restaurant, warm and friendly.
We sat near the back, behind us are "bar seats", and the walls are lined with bamboo. I guess it would be less boring for the diners rather than staring at a plain wall. haha.
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Food
If you read my travel blogs, you would have known before we came to Shizuka, we had some pretty big sized shaved ice lol...
Also, after spending a lot of time under the heat, I was not hungry at all, and definitely wasn't craving for piping hot rice. :l
But since we are here, I will order something.
Kamameshi is a traditional dish and there is a specific type of way to enjoy it.
The instructions is on the table lol.
hmm...
First you would eat the rice as it is, scoop up a few spoonfuls into your bowl and eat.
For a different kind of taste, use the rice paddle to scrape off the okoge, which is the crunchier rice on the bottom of the pot, mix a bit of that with the left over rice and enjoy.
The okoge has a different type of texture and is more aromatic.
& that is how you eat the kamameshi!
Now that we know, here's the dishes we ordered,,, :D
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For all the kamameshi, we ordered teishoku sets. Thus they include a kamameshi, miso soup, and some Japanese pickles.
Nara Nanashu Kamameshi 奈良七種 釜めし
This one is kind of like their house Nara specialty. It includes burdocks, carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, peas, chicken ,prawns, eel, and crab. Loaded with ingredients I would definitely say. Perfect for those who wants a bit of everything.
Yamato Chicken Kamameshi 大和肉鶏 釜めし
Yamato nikudori kamameshi uses native Nara chicken, so it is very fresh, and one of their recommendations. It includes chicken, thin omelette, sesame, burdock, carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and trefoil.
Crab Kamameshi かに 釜めし
This one is for crab lovers, a good amount of pre-peeled crab sits on top of the rice. I lovee when you don't have to self peel crabs becuase I am so lazy, and cannot be bothered to do that.
Nara nanashu Hodgepodge 奈良七種雑炊
I ordered the hodgepodge, with all the rice and ingredients in a nice soup stock. It includes crab, shrimp, chicken, and eggs. I wanted a light variation to what was offered here, so I chose this dish. And it was really really tasty. The soup is very flavourful, I could absolutely gobble everything up if I hadn't been pretty full from our last treat.
Verdict
All in all, kamameshi is worth a try when visiting Nara. I would recommend to only order 1 or 2 kamameshi sets to share instead of 1 set for each person. Then order some side dishes to mix it up a little. Unless you're a rice lover with a big appetite, it might be a little too much.
Also, they have seasonal specialty menus in Spring (shirasu), Autumn (chestnut), and Winter (oyster) at the Oomiya location, and the Winter special only at the Nara Park location. Would be great to try those out if visiting around those times!
Shizuka 志津香
0742-27-8030
59 Noborioji-cho, Nara
奈良市大宮町4-249-4
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