Local Japanese eatery offers comfy, cute dining experience

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This article was published 05/08/2015 (4042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The name translates loosely as Dwarf’s Hiding Place.

“Cute” is the description I’ve most often heard, and Dwarf No Cachette is self-described as kawaii (Japanese for cute), so I expected an excess of tchotchkes. But I was surprised at the sweet and almost rustic charm of the room. In fact, the eponymous dwarfs lurk discreetly out of the way on shelves and on the windowsills.

Two big, two-tiered windows in the high-ceilinged part of the room overlook Provencher Boulevard. A massive mirror on the opposite wall is adorned by a pretty border of pink cherry blossoms. The plain wooden tables and chairs are mismatched but seem unified by their bare, almost schoolroom simplicity.

The menu, though, is decidedly cute — a handmade scrapbook with photographs and handwritten descriptions of the dishes, some missing a page. Although there are a few of both kinds of dishes, this is neither a sushi nor an izakaya house, but a one-of-a-kind establishment, with a selection that also includes a few Japanese comfort foods. Prices of most mains range from $8.95 to $15.95, and snacks and sushi rolls from $4.50 to $13.95.

Some of the descriptions are inadequate. What, for instance, was the Rice Doria Casserole? A rice dish, we were told, with a cream sauce, cheese and choice of other ingredients — not uncommon in Japan, my Asian maven told me. So we chanced it — with bacon and spinach, in our case — and were astonished by an enormous casserole, filled with what could almost have been a homey French dish, that was seductively and addictively delicious.

Pork katsu is one of my favourite Japanese dishes anywhere, and it was one of my favourites here, too. The succulent strips of crisply fried, breaded pork are served over rice, with a gentle, savoury-sweet curry sauce, more reminiscent of the Caribbean than of India (chicken katsu is an alternative).

There are two kinds of okonomiyaki in Japan — thin and thick. This is the thick Kansai version, a huge, lovely pancake with cabbage and seafood (shrimp and, possibly, squid) that was dense but not doughy, the surface drizzled with squiggles of a sweetish sauce and mayonnaise. I couldn’t resist trying the top-priced ($15.95) Hawaiian loco moco — an enormous hamburger steak in mushroom gravy, with the dense texture and satisfying, savoury flavour that could have come from any baba’s kitchen. With it, excellent fries and a decent tossed salad.

The ramen is a meal in itself — a rich miso broth with skinny, chewy noodles garnished with a few slices of pork belly, a salty-sweet marinated soft-boiled egg and a few niblets of corn (optional broths are plain or thick miso, and plain, rich or thick soy). If you want soup only as a starter, the standard miso is excellent.

The best of the small dishes were the gyoza dumplings — among the meatiest and most flavourful I’ve had — and the generous Ahi poke salad of ahi tuna and avocado in a sweetish, sesame-sprinkled sauce. The puff of tempura batter was crisp and greaseless, and the shrimp good, although (like many tempuras elsewhere) it was only half a shrimp, sliced lengthwise. If you like mashed potatoes you’ll like the big (two to an order) deep-fried potato-corn croquettes.

The light, sweetly glazed takoyaki fritters would have ranked higher if there had been more than just a smidgen of octopus, which was tough to boot. Fried oysters were marvellously crunchy but slightly fishy.

There are several sushi rolls but, apart from the Opal, which contains “imitation crap” (sic), only the Garnet is made with raw fish — chopped scallops, fish roe and a topping of marinated salmon. It’s very good, but note: it packs a potent wallop of chili. Those who’d like more raw fish should try the don rice bowl, topped with salmon and tuna.

I was curious about the occidental-sounding Ruby Roll with tempura sausage, ham, salami and cheese. Actually I couldn’t taste the ham or salami, but I did taste a smear of cheese and loved the crisply fried tempura chunk of a very tasty wiener — also (according to my maven) common in Japan.

There were occasional flaws in a few dishes, but I found only two that were totally disappointing: a thick, flavourless mass of yakisoba noodles with stir-fried squiggles of beef; and the gomae spinach salad in an unpleasantly sweet, gloppy dressing.

There are ice cream parfaits and shaved-ice desserts, but we opted for the black sesame vanilla shake, which was heavenly. The loose-leaf roasted-rice green tea comes with a strainer, so you don’t end up with a cupful of tea leaves.

Everything was beautifully presented, and the service couldn’t have been more helpful or more charming.

Note: Tuesday is Maid Cafe Day, an event at which waitresses dress as maids and entertain their “masters” with songs, dances and games. It’s part of a subculture in Japan, of most interest locally — I’d imagine — to those who are into anime and cosplaying, about which I know absolutely nothing and am totally unqualified to comment on.

 

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca