The chance to try rare and interesting foods is one of the many factors that drew me to Japan. I had the opportunity to try a new restaurant recently in Roppongi Hills called Mother's and had the satisfaction of yet another brand new dining experience. Mother's Restaurant in Roppongi Hills specializes in fugu (blowfish), suppon (softshell turtle) and nabe (hot soup/stew bowls). It was my first experience tasting fugu and I was somewhat relieved to hear that Mother's uses poison-free, high quality farmed fish.
My course started with a beer and a nicely flavored squid and mushroom appetizer that I quickly devoured. Since Mother's specializes in fugu, we added an appetizer of fried fugu. The flavor of the fry and warm fugu was enough to make me want to go back alone. The fish has a bit of a whitefish taste to it and can be slighty tricky to eat around the bones, but the tastes was excellent. We also tried a few more appetiziers including a thinly sliced celery salad and thick bacon slabs with mustard, both good. At this point, we also added a shochu (a strong Japanese alcohol) set, one served cold and the other warm. As we sipped on the shochu the highlight of the meal, a three part fugu set, was laid out on the table before us. The three types of fugu included garlic and pepper, green onion and salt, and a spicy miso sauce fugu. The waiter carefully cooked the fish on the grill located in the center of our table and explained to us (in english!) which order to eat in and which sauce is recommended with each fugu. As the fugu is quite thinly sliced there the rubbery experience that often is associated with fugu is almost non-existent. Each taste was unique and it was a fun experience bouncing back and forth between the combinations of fugu and sauces to find the perfect mixture for each. The fugu and appetizers would be enough for a light meal, but we followed our meal with a hearty nabe stew of vegetables, pork, noodles, and a variety of high quality seafood including crab, scallops and more. This is a special type of nabe called 'Chanko Nabe' which is the same type of nabe eaten by sumo wrestlers at the famous Kokonoe stable. If you are looking to warm up on a cold night or are feeling like you need to bulk up a bit, then nabe is the way to go.
During our meal we were told that the menu is carefully selected and tested by Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, one of the great sumo wrestlers of recent times, former Yokozuna and current stable master of the Kokonoe stable. There are parts of his sumo garb on display near the entrance to the restaurant. I imagine he and his sumo wrestlers come often to test the food.
Mother's is quite different for lunch portions, specializing in more value selections for around 1000 to 2000 yen and there is plenty of bar seating available if you go alone. Lunch menu sets include sushi rice bowls, tempura, sashimi, roast pork and a selection of nabe stews. There is also a daily lunch plate that is always different and limited to 50 servings a day for 1000 yen. Dinner prices do start to go up and if you are on a budget you may have trouble spending the required 5000 yen plus per person. If you venture into fugu sets, suppon, drinks and appetizers expect to spend more.
Mother's provides an amazing dining experience and if you are a fan of fugu or suppon (I'll have to go back and try it next time) you will not be disappointed with the quality of food and ingredients used. Located on the fifth floor of Roppongi Hills it is open late (11:00pm weeknights, all night weekends) and combos well with a movie at the nearby Toho Cinemas.
