Magok eel restaurant: hitsumabushi with bokbunja ade at Kikukawa

On a day I wanted a slightly special meal, I went to Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa, one of the recommended restaurants in Magok's One Grove. It's a Nagoya-style eel restaurant specializing in hitsumabushi (grilled eel rice bowl), and I tried the Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum hitsumabushi in its upscale dining room.

Where is Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch, and what is it like inside?

Kikukawa, located on the first floor of Building A in One Grove, Magok, was easy to get to since it's right by Magok Station. It's inside One Grove itself, connected to the subway, so it was also nice to look around the complex before and after the meal. The interior was clean and had a genuinely upscale feel.

Besides the hall tables, there are private rooms too, which looked great for visiting with a group or wanting a more private meal. Since the space can accommodate groups, it would work well for family meals or gatherings. Corkage is free for one bottle per table, and there's also a discount available for One Grove office workers.

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa, one of the go-to restaurants in Magok, was selected for the Michelin 2019 Aichi, Gifu, Mie special edition. Michelin-recognized hitsumabushi — that gets you excited, right?

What's on the menu at Kikukawa in Magok?

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa has a wide variety of eel rice bowls: unaju, hitsumabushi, mentaiko hitsumabushi, plus tempura, sashimi, and hone-senbei (crispy fried eel bones) as sides.

There's a real advantage in being able to choose your hitsumabushi based on the amount of eel, your taste, and your budget. I ordered the Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum hitsumabushi and a bokbunja ade~~

Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum hitsumabushi: a whole eel over rice

The hitsumabushi arrived as a full spread, with a whole grilled eel laid on top. Having the long-grilled eel sitting there whole gives it way more upscale flair than a regular eel rice bowl! Let's dig into hitsumabushi from a Michelin-recognized restaurant.

The eel was thick and meaty. The skin side had a slight crispness while the inside was soft and full of moist juices. The flesh was so plump that even one bite filled my mouth.

It's brushed with Kikukawa's own sauce, which isn't too salty or overpowering, so I got the real flavor of this Michelin-recognized eel rice bowl. If you want a stronger seasoning, there's eel sauce on the table you can pour on.

Rice refills are available if you run out, but the portion was generous enough that I didn't need extra. I came here for eel rice, and I figured I should eat more eel than rice if I wanted a real energy boost, haha.

Three ways to eat hitsumabushi

There's also a guide on how to eat hitsumabushi. You can enjoy it three ways: tasting the eel plain, adding toppings, and pouring dashi broth over it.

1. First I tried the eel and rice with nothing added. The eel's thick texture and nutty flavor really came through.

2. Next I added the wasabi and seaweed flakes that came with it. This is my favorite way to eat it, haha. The wasabi's sharpness cuts through the eel's richness and makes it feel cleaner.

3. For the third way, put eel and rice with toppings into the small bowl provided, then pour dashi broth over it to eat like ochazuke. The warm broth makes the rice and eel moist, giving it a taste like a comforting sungnyung (scorched rice tea) dessert. I also appreciated that instead of a bunch of unnecessary side dishes, the spread was clean and focused on toppings that actually complement the eel rice.

The bokbunja ade was rich and sweet with real black raspberry flavor. Talk about a full recharge that day!?! Eel plus bokbunja — I left completely refueled!

Is Kikukawa in Magok worth it? Final thoughts

The eel rice bowl I had at Kikukawa, one of the recommended restaurants in Magok's One Grove, is Michelin-recognized hitsumabushi. From the upscale presentation to the three different ways of enjoying a single dish, it was a memorable meal — visit on a day you're craving an upscale eel rice bowl or hitsumabushi in Magok.