But I did find a peaceful island in Yoshida. Unlike most restaurants in town, it's not located on the esplanade, still, any taxi driver or hotel worker will know how to get there; it's just part of the city texture.
Let's take a trip to Eilat, he says. But the hotel swimming pool is crowded with water gun armed kids, and the hotel buffet is as rich as the big families hovering over it. And there's the hotel entertainment staff that wakes me up at 9 am. It's like the fact that this is my vacation has escaped them.
But I did find a peaceful island in Yoshida. Unlike most restaurants in town, it's not located on the esplanade, still, any taxi driver or hotel worker will know how to get there; it's just part of the city texture. This year it celebrates its 10th anniversary, which means that Chef and owner Yoshi has been spreading the word of Japanese food in Eilat for 10 years.
In honor of his daughter's maturation, Yoshi has decided to turn it into a Kosher restaurant. Surprised? Imitated? Well, don't be. The Kosher version of Japanese food enables a close inspection of the Japanese spices and way of cooking, as shrimps and calamari no longer steal the thunder. And on this test we're giving Yoshida an A.
So we started our meal with a small glass of sweet and delicate plum wine, and continued with chicken Miso Ramen. I've tasted these before, but it was still new to me. Tofu, seaweed, the surprises just kept on coming.
After the soup we were ready to start sampling: Tamago, sweet potato and coconut – a very interesting roll. I would even recommend having it for dessert, especially given the sweet surprise lurking inside it: an apple!
In between dishes we rested a little with sand and sea cabbage salad. It combines the two different cabbages, and Yoshida's special dressing, basically made of Wasabi, merges the flavors and upgrades it.
The Yaki-Soba noodles, which were floating on a sea of fruit based soy sauce, were well cooked. The spicy salmon roll that was spiced with delicate chili was an absolute delight. As we were joining hands and enjoying Yoshida's relaxed atmosphere, some chicken gyozas came to our table - traditional festivities food as Yoshi explained. They were fresh, cooked to the right level, and stuffed with good luck wishes.
Now you should really try the banana Tempura. With some tea, it was a good finale for this wonderful meal.
By the way, Yoshi lives in England for most of the year, and only comes to Yoshida for the summer. You should take advantage of that before he leaves.
