Eat like a Sumotori!

Restaurant Review: Bueno Cozinha Oriental

Alameda Santos, 835 - Cerqueira César, São Paulo

The restaurant was created by a Brazilian sumo wrestler, that had lived for a while in Japan.

It has an Izakaya atmosphere (居酒屋) which is a type of informal Japanese drinking establishment that serves food to accompany the drinks. The name "izakaya" is a compound word of "i" ("sit") and "Sakaya" ("sake shop"), which shows its origin as establishments that sold alcohol and allow customers to sit in their addictions to drink them. There, you can find a wide variety of shochus.

Shochu is a Japanese traditional hard liquor, distilled spirits made from grains and vegetables. The most common base ingredients are sweet potato, barley, rice, buckwheat and sugar cane.

Their motto is "no sushi, no sashimi". They have Japanese and Korean dishes. I ate almost everything in their menu already. A must is 豚の角煮 buta no kakuni (cooked pork pancetta). It's "melt-in-your-mouth" tender, just amazing.. All of my friends that I took there were completely in love with that dish.

The other thing that I love in there is the Bibimbap - a Korean traditional dish. It has rice, some veggies and an uncooked egg and tons of spice. But you can choose the level of spice: weak, medium, strong or extra strong. I like mine extra. Oh and don't worry about the egg, it comes in a sizzling pan, and you are supposed to mix it all and it cooks just there. So much fun!

I love the Okonomiyaki too! It is like a Japanese pancake made of cabbage and other fun stuff. Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) literally means “grilled as you like it” in Japanese. I always do it at home, but this one has a twist: it has kabotya purée! It makes it extra special and yummy. Good luck taking pictures of it, looks completely meh, but in person it is a lot more friendly and tasty.

They have Chanko nabe (ちゃんこ鍋) too. The owner told me sumo wrestlers have to eat that a lot. I looked up in Google and it says that Chanko nabe is "inseparably associated with Sumo fight".

Chanko nabe is a kind of stew that’s known as the original sumo food. Despite the reputation that sumos have for their huge statures, the recipe for chanko nabe is actually relatively healthy, low in fat and loaded with vegetables. I got a curry chanko nabe. But is not one of my favorite dishes of the house, it tastes boring compared to other dishes.

The last time I went to Bueno, I ate roasted Beef Tongue (Língua de Boi)! It's a bit unusual, but it tastes goooood. The meat is thinly sliced and roasted, making it tender and yummy.

They serve Okonomiyaki and Chanko Nabe only at night.

At lunch, there are other options, like Curry with Katsudon (fried pork meat) or Karaage (fried chicken).

And a really good one is a dish served only on Thursdays, which is a stew Pirarucu (Fresh Water fish) in sake. But you have to arrive early, it always solds out pretty quickly.

In basics, it's comfort food. Makes your tummy feel happy, like you just had your grandma's food.

#Japanese