From grilled eel to ox-tongue, get a taste of traditional Japanese cuisine.
As a Japanese restaurant that specializes in eel dishes, walking through the doors of Unagami you’ll be greeted by the smoky aroma from the charcoal grill.
Unaju Tokujou, the eel set which costs $35, includes a big grilled eel on rice. The eel is very sweet and delicate and overall balanced with its own contrast flavours. This is one of Unagami’s signature dishes and the set includes a clear soup, pickled cabbage and a cup of luscious tofu as a dessert.
The traditional Japanese Hitsumabushi set includes eel layered over a bowl of rice and served with gluey grated lotus root, seaweed and spring onions and pickled cabbage and costs $30. The beauty of this set is that you can combine all the separate components together to create an entirely new dish.
As well as providing fresh eel dishes made to order, those brave enough can also order the eel organs too. The eel hearts and other organs are skewered and roasted, giving an unusual flavour and cost $3.
Unagami also serves dumplings. Choose the ones made with eel, spring onion and garlic as it’s a dish which is only available in a few areas in Yangon. This cost of this dish is $25 and though this may seem expensive, it’s worth it to try once.
If you are a pork lover, try the Buta No Amiyakidon set. The thinly sliced pork, grilled in eel sauce, piled over the rice along with the bean sprout salad, quail eggs and Japanese ginger. This set also includes a clear soup and costs $6.
Another highlight was the ox-tongue, which was prepared and seasoned for three days ahead of serving and costs $11 for a set. Grilled over charcoal and dipped in a sweet sauce, this dish will give your taste buds a treat. The accompanying clear soup is flavoured with shitake mushroom and lotus roots, bringing out a natural sweetness.
As Japanese tradition dictates that different flavored dishes shouldn’t touch each other on a single plate, each different dish is given its own individual plate or are prettily partitioned using leaves. Guests should also bear in mind that placing main dishes on top of rice and is seem as soiling the food and so is frowned upon by Japanese etiquette. Visiting Unagami is like taking a miniature trip to Japan and it’s well-worth a visit to sample the traditional cuisine.
Address: 1F, No.9, Wai Luwun 7th, Baho Road, SanChaung Township, Yangon.
Phone: 09954774362
Opening hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 8.30pm
