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When it comes to Japanese food, everyone has a favourite story to tell. I distinctly remember one particular trip to Tokyo, not too long ago. Wandering around the Uchi-Kanda district in Chiyoda after a visit to the elusive Ghibli Museum, we swooped into a quiet six-seater restaurant for a short respite from the rain. Little did we know—and much to our luck—we had unwittingly stumbled across an excellent establishment, the home of an accomplished unagi donburi recipe that was prepared to perfection, and one which would set standards high for all unagi donburi dishes to come.
Also known as unadon, the humble unagi donburi is perhaps one of Japan’s most underrated food exports. It is claimed that the unadon was actually the first type of Japanese donburi rice dish, invented in the late Edo period in Sakai-machi (now Nihonbashi in present-day Tokyo). Centred around a bowl of steamed pearl rice topped with fillets of grilled eel prepared kabayaki-style (蒲焼; a special Japanese preparation of fish and eel, where the fish is butterflied down the back), the secret is in its tare (垂れ; dipping sauces used in grilling), a caramelised sweetened soy sauce-based glaze. There are no bells and whistles to the plain unagi donburi, but its rich, umami flavours have the ability to curl toes in absolute foodgasm.
In Hong Kong, the unagi donburi may not have received the fanfare enjoyed by other Japanese dishes, but there is a small and growing appreciation for it. Join us as we uncover the best restaurants in Hong Kong for unagi donburi.