Eel rice bowl restaurant near Yeoksam Station for team lunch: Chisot

Do you need a reservation for a team lunch at Chisot near Yeoksam Station?

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch had almost every table full, so it's best to reserve. This is a neat freshwater eel rice bowl place near Yeoksam Station, and today I went for eel rice bowls~ It seems really great for a company lunch outing too. I booked ahead, and for gatherings or treating someone to a meal, I'd say book ahead as well.

What's on the menu at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch?

Chisot's signature dish is hitsumabushi, a freshwater eel rice bowl. Hitsumabushi is a Nagoya, Japan specialty, and besides the basic one there's also a Special Hitsumabushi (with an extra half eel). There's also a freshwater eel set meal, sake-don (salmon rice bowl) and more, so even people who don't love eel have something to enjoy.

I ordered the Signature Hitsumabushi (one whole freshwater eel). It didn't take long after ordering. It came out in about 5 minutes! Everything from the rice bowl to the side dishes was laid out so neatly that I felt like I was being treated to a proper meal.

Hitsumabushi is an eel rice bowl made by putting warm, fluffy rice in a wooden bowl called a "hitsu" in Japanese, drizzling it with a secret tare sauce, and topping it with freshwater eel grilled crispy outside and tender inside.

How do you eat hitsumabushi?

You divide hitsumabushi into quarters with a cross cut and eat it in four rounds. At Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, a staff member kindly explained how to eat it.

• Eat the grilled eel on top of the rice as it is
• Add the garnishes and eat
• Pour over ocha (tea) broth and eat
• Eat it whichever of the three ways you liked best

Delicious, sure, but the way you eat hitsumabushi is fun too!

How are the portion and taste of the whole-eel Signature Hitsumabushi?

The side dishes with Chisot's eel rice bowl are salad, steamed egg, wasabi, soup, shredded seaweed, scallions and broth. A really neatly presented table!

The wooden bowl is packed with freshwater eel. The color already looks so well seasoned, and a nutty aroma wafts up. This was the basic hitsumabushi with one whole eel, and the portion was huge! It's loaded with eel, and the eel is plump and meaty. There was no fishy taste at all, and it was crispy outside and moist inside. Really delicious.

Even though I ordered just the regular hitsumabushi, the portion was generous, and I was satisfied that I could enjoy it in so many different ways. The place is cozy and the staff were kind, so I left feeling good and well fed!

Hitsumabushi step by step, as I tasted it

• Move 1/4 of the eel rice bowl into an empty bowl to taste just the eel and rice as they are — with plump eel and fresh wasabi on the rice, it wasn't fishy, the seasoning was just right, and it was delicious.
• Add shredded seaweed and scallions, mix lightly, then top with a little fresh wasabi for a clean flavor — the scallion aroma comes through and it's tasty.
• Add seaweed, scallions and wasabi, then pour in the broth from the gourd-shaped pitcher for a savory, mild flavor — the broth was seriously, really nutty and rich.
• Finish the rest cleanly with whichever of the three ways suits you best.

Overall verdict on the eel rice bowl at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch

If you want an eel rice bowl, I recommend Chisot's freshwater eel hitsumabushi. The Japanese Nagoya-style eel bowl was so good here: fresh eel with no fishy smell or bones, a tasty sweet-salty sauce with added charcoal aroma and flavor, and several ways to eat it made for a refined, clean meal.

The first thing you notice when eating hitsumabushi for the first time is the soft, moist texture of the eel. The outside is grilled golden and slightly crisp while keeping the nutty aroma unique to charcoal, and the flesh is fluffy and tender, easily melting in your mouth. The sweet and salty tare sauce blends well with the eel's rich flavor, and eaten with the warm rice that has soaked up the sauce, the savory depth gets even stronger. Adding scallions and wasabi brings a sharp, fresh note that neatly cuts the eel's richness. At the end you pour in warm broth, which softens the eel's strong flavor into something mild and comforting. In one bowl you can enjoy everything from rich and nutty to fresh and light.