Ginshariya Gekotei

In Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, there is a diner called “Ginshariya Gekotei”, a set meal restaurant operated by a man once known as the “rice cooking hermit. The restaurant is located in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, and is known through the media for the excellent ginshari rice cooked by this master rice cooker. He was even invited by the Chinese government after gaining a reputation in China.

Unfortunately, after 50 years in business, he announced his retirement and transferred the management of the restaurant to Fusio Food Co. I had heard rumors that the restaurant has continued to operate since then, but I had always wondered how things had changed since then, so I visited the restaurant one weekend morning…

The current store is diagonally across the alley from the old store… The old store is still there and active in take-out business

The former store on the main street now operates as a take-out-only store. I was puzzled when I opened the entrance to the store, and the mother inside told me, “That way. The diner has moved to an alleyway off the main street, and I was a little relieved to find that it was as busy as ever here.

The restaurant, which retains the atmosphere of an old diner, has an open kitchen and seating area of approximately 1:1, with six tables seating four people each. However, the restaurant is packed with customers, as if to say, “I don’t care about that!” The restaurant is packed with customers. There was no line outside the restaurant, but chaos inside.

No written menu or prices… but a complete explanation of the complicated ordering process at Ginshariya Gekotei

The flow of customers after entering Ginshariya Gekotei is unique, so first-timers are sure to be confused. For those who are thinking of visiting the restaurant, please refer to the following explanations of the entire process from entering the restaurant to ordering food.

First, receive an aluminum tray from the cashier on your left as soon as you enter the restaurant, and then line up to select your side dish. No advance seating is allowed. You must order your food first.

From the refrigerator behind the cash register, you can get chilled tofu, edamame, sashimi… From there, you move to the counter to get hot oden, fried shrimp, fried oysters, grilled salmon, and other side dishes in order. There were probably about 20 side dishes in total that day. The flow of this area is the same as other diners. But the trouble is, at Ginshariya Gekotei…

That’s right. It’s not very reassuring when your wallet is skinny, but here you have no choice but to keep quiet and move on.

Finally, we order rice and miso soup, but this is where the action comes to a halt. The woman who used to run the restaurant would not serve the rice and miso soup until there was room in the seating area. Here, there is a short wait. When a seat becomes available, you choose the amount of rice (three levels: large, medium, or small) and miso soup (one of three choices), and finally you are shown to your seat.

Since that is how it is, you are basically seated together. Also, we have not yet gotten to the point of paying for the food so far. The price is a matter of concern, but we will discuss it later, so please continue on with the rest of this page…

Breakfast at Ginshariya Gekotei: Is the quality of Ginshari maintained even though the master rice cook has retired?

Well, here is the lineup I chose for breakfast that day…

A large bowl of silver rice, pork miso soup, dashimaki tamago (rolled egg), potato salad, boiled yellowtail, and hijiki. The price is the same whether you choose a large, medium, or small bowl of silver rice, and if one bowl is not enough, you can have another (for an additional charge).

I guess I have to say what I think of the silver lining here. I will be honest. It is the best. It has a lot of water content, but it is not sticky at all, and each grain stands out crisply and is plump. This is a different direction from the “Gaikou Nainan” style of “Hachidaime Gihey“, a popular rice restaurant in Kyoto, but the rice is cooked to an impressive degree, which shows that the rice cooker manufacturer has studied this style of rice cooking.

The rice is so soft and fluffy that the rice grains almost pop when you bite into it, and in addition to the texture, there is a hint of natural sweetness inside. I have never had rice like this in my rice cooker at home. As a matter of course, I had to have another bowl of rice with silver rice!

Unfortunately, it took a little time to be seated, and the egg rolls, which had been so thick at first, were not fully heated through, but each side dish was generous in volume, and I was able to fully enjoy a substantial breakfast.

As for the price, the former owner of the restaurant left a slip like this on my desk while I was eating.

I knew that a bowl of pork miso soup was only 200 yen, but when I looked at it, I saw that only the yellowtail was boiled for 500 yen, which seemed like a higher price. Compared to the local restaurants, the price of one dish is about the same or slightly higher. But the portions are larger, so I think Ginshariya Gekotei might be a better value in total….

After finishing your meal, take this slip to the cashier for payment. You can leave the dishes as they are.

There are stores of the same name in Tenroku, Shinsaibashi, and Itami Airport… To get to Ginshariya Gekotei, walk 2 minutes from the nearest station, Terajicho Station on the Hankai Electric Railway Hankai Line.

Ginshariya Gekotei now has restaurants of the same name in Tenroku, Shinsaibashi Daimaru, and Itami Airport. (It is a franchise store by Fusio Food Co., Ltd. but to be honest, knowing the main store in Sakai, I am not sure I would be interested in using these stores.

I have no comment on the taste, since I have not actually used the restaurant, but the Itami Airport restaurant I know of is completely chain-like, and I feel that the charm of Gekotei is greatly diminished.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant. Restaurant data is here…

To add some objectivity to my evaluation of the restaurant, I’ll also include some reviews from other blogs…

P.S. 大阪で美味しい和食をお探しのあなた、ぜひこちらの記事にも立ち寄っていってください…