Nowadays, many of Tokyo’s major terminal stations regularly sell ekiben from all over Japan, allowing you to enjoy everything from seafood and mountain delicacies to regional specialties at any time. Among these, the simple seafood bento I’m introducing today—featuring silver salmon and salmon roe from the Sanriku region of Tohoku—is from Nihonbashi Omasu, a long-established Tokyo shop. It’s a Tokyo ekiben that makes generous use of seafood from the Tohoku region.
The first thing that catches your eye is the large piece of salt-grilled salmon sitting on top of the rice. It’s a fatty silver salmon from the Sanriku region, grilled with a light salt seasoning, which brings out the gentle, natural flavor of the salmon—it’s delicious enough on its own to make you want to keep eating rice.
The soy sauce-marinated ikura is made from trout roe. Compared to salmon ikura, the grains are smaller, less crunchy, and softer, but I actually think it goes better with rice seasoned with soy sauce. By the way, if you look closely at the package, it clearly says “SALMON AND TROUT ROE BENTO.”
The simmered shiitake mushrooms served on the side have a fairly rich flavor. The rolled omelet has a light flavor, and while both were on the small side—I did wish they were a bit more substantial—considering the overall balance, this amount seems just right.
Personally, I tend to look for regional specialties in ekiben, but for people who travel frequently on business, I think it’s really great that they can always choose from a variety of seafood-based ekiben as meal options when traveling from the city center.
The simple combination of silver salmon and trout roe was very well-balanced; its mild, unassuming flavor—one that never gets old—was a taste I could confidently recommend to anyone, whether they were heading to work or rushing home after a long day.
© Source travel watch