My favorite cuisine is seafood. The fresher, the better. If it is Japanese, even better. So, where can you get such seafood? Right by (or inside) the fish market in Japan! Yes, there are some famous ones out there, but you don’t need to go to the famous (a.k.a. crowded with tourists) fish market super early in the morning to get it. Luckily for me, I found a rather small, local one in Kashiwa.
Inside the gate for fish market, there are several restaurants and stores right around the actual market, and one of them is call Isogiya. This is the second time I visited this market, and the second restaurant I tried here. (You can read the first restaurant here http://www.foodlovergirl.com/meshi-ya/)
The inside is the same or similar to others alongside the Isogiya, such as Meshi-ya. On the right side is the raised tatami floor seating, middle is table seating, and left side was the counter seating.
We were there for the seafood, and super excited, we looked through their menu with photos (great to know what you are ordering before you order it). First one was Tuna & Salmon Roe set (1,000 yen, roughly $10). It came with somen salad (somen is very thin white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour), Tofu, Miso Soup with Crab, and a nice donburi with fresh tuna and salmon roe. For anyone who is a fan of tuna sashimi and salmon roe, this is like seafood heaven. It had sushi rice underneath it, and the entire set screamed happiness for tummy. It had generous amount of tuna and salmon roe, which was really awesome, and the side dishes were really tasty and refreshing as well. And all of this for about $10 is a steal!
Then, we had Three-kind Sashimi Donburi set (1,000 yen). The type of sashimi changes daily, based on what is fresh on that day. The sides are the same, minus the tofu. The sashimi is overflowing from the donburi, over the sushi rice. They were salmon, tuna, and bonito sashimi, sliced thick. The salmon had nice natural oil, shiny and all very fresh.
Another one was Isogiya Set (1,000 yen). This one also changes daily, based on whats fresh and whats available. On this day, it came with Croquette, Grilled Salmons, Fresh sashimi assortments, Pickles, Salad and Soup. If you want more than just raw fish, this is the way to go. You get something fried, something grilled, and the fresh shashimi. On top of that, you get all the sides too, all for about $10!!! And yes, everything was really great. They certainly know how to prepare a good home-cooked meal. And did I mention how awesome the soup is? The miso soup is getting all the juice from the crab, while the crab is soaking up the miso flavor. It was really great! Prepare to get your hands dirty…it is worth it! They tend to change the soup based on whats fresh and whats available as well, I am glad it was the crab when we went there!
The last one is one of their most popular dish, Seafood Donburi (1,000yen). Basically, you can get most of their amazing dishes for around $10. Unbelievable. A large shrimp is just dancing over all sorts of fresh sashimi, over the sushi rice. Some sashimi pieces were sliced thinner than others, but I still thing this is a great deal. And with the refreshing salad and super awesome hot soup, it really was nice.
Everything we ordered were really tasty, fresh, and good quality. It comes from being so close to the fish market. They are not for tourists, but more for locals and the workers at the market, so nothing fancy. The service were good, down-to-earth staff, polite and efficient. I can’t wait to go back for more seafood!
Isogiya – 69-1 Wakashiba, Kashiwa Chiba, Japan 277-0871
いそぎや – 千葉県柏市若柴 69-1