Fish and prawn grilled on robata.

Throughout the globe, Japanese cuisine never fails to satisfy palates.

Always managing to keep up with the latest and hippest, Jakartans have welcomed the subtleties of sushi and sashimi, leading to the proliferation of sushi establishments across the capital in the past few years.

Jakartans with refined taste buds are always on the lookout for dishes using the freshest and most authentic ingredients.

Recently, a new restaurant franchise, set up shop in Jakarta to offer a traditional Japanese concept of cooking unfamiliar to Jakartans.

Robatayaki — literally meaning “fireside-cooking”, often shortened to just robata — refers to a method of cooking similar to the barbecue, in which items of food on skewers are char-grilled in a sand pit.

The technique originated from a centuries-old coastal style of cooking by Japanese fishermen around an irori (communal hearth) that served both as a cooking area and to provide heating, found on the northernmost island of
Japan, Hokkaido.

Takumi Robata & Sushi restaurant opened its doors in Senayan, Central Jakarta, to offer hungry Jakartans the experience of authentic traditional Japanese cooking. It has opened restaurants in Singapore and Shanghai in the past five years after first opening in Tokyo in 2005.

Despite roasting over charcoal, the traditional Japanese technique involves putting fish, meat, vegetables and fruit on bamboo skewers and placing them on the sand near the charcoal embers.

Unlike in its traditional setting, the sand hearth at the restaurant is raised to waist level and located in the center of a cooking counter for customers’ viewing.

The restaurant — located within the Senayan National Golf Club overlooking the lush greens — uses a lot of wood in its interior, apparently aiming for a rustic ambience to recreate the simplicity of typical northern Japanese decor.

From the hearth, the burning embers and the encircling skewered food lend warmth to the establishment and whets customers’ appetites.

Benjamin Lee, the restaurant director, said most of the fish and ingredients served were imported from Japan.

Robata counter with fish bed.
“Freshness and quality are the key factors to an authentic taste of robata. Our seafood is imported directly from Tsukiji fish market, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world,” Lee said.

Among the imported fish served by the restaurant are Hokkaido’s most popular fish with a bright pinkish red skin and big eyes, kinki (shortspine thornyhead), high-grade nihonkai nodokuro (blackthroat sea perch) from northern Japan, tarabagani (Alaskan king crab), oysters, scallops and live abalone.

Lee added that although the restaurant mainly imported seafood from Japan, it also tried to use local seafood.

“We can find high quality seafood in the local market, including tuna, squid and prawns,” he said.

The hearth uses a particular charcoal called binch-tan, which is made from mangrove wood.

“This come from Palembang, South Sumatra. Our other robatayaki establishment imports the charcoal from there,” Lee said. It takes a while for food to cook in robatayaki.

“Fish, scallops, crabs and lobsters usually take between 20 and 30 minutes on the robata,” said Masahito Kishino, one of the main chefs at the restaurant.

Chef Kishino at robatayaki grill.Kishino and his colleague Kazuhisa Yokota are skilled traditional Japanese chefs who were flown in from their home country to work at the Jakarta outlet.

Apart from the robata roast menu, Takumi also offers selections of sushi and sashimi as well as a la carte dishes.

Takumi also features a sake bar on the opposite side of the robata.

The bar offers a wide variety of sake from different Japanese prefectures, including premium sake such as Shichida Jyunmai Daiginjyo, Jyudan Jikomi Jyunmai Daiginjyo, Kubota Kojyu Junmai, Hakuryu Jyunmai Daiginjyo, Kubota Manjyu Jyunmai Daiginjyo and Hokusetsu YK35 Daiginjyo.

It also serves sochu (Japanese plum wine) and a selection of red and white wines from around the world.

Seiki Takahashi of the Takumi franchise said that robatayaki was the best way to enjoy seafood and consequently it took more effort.

“The pit hearth and its special sand, the selected charcoal, a big kitchen and more attention to cooking are essential in robata,” Takahashi said.

The complexity in running robatayaki has led to the closure of many establishments in Japan in recent decades.

“We decide to reintroduce the traditional way, especially for customers outside Japan,” Takahashi said.

— Photos courtesy of Takumi Robata & Sushi restaurant