Tokyoite Poutine

久しぶりにカナダ料理のプーティーンを食べられました。懐かしかった！

Lorsqu’on est ailleurs, il est toujours bien de pouvoir manger un repas de la saveur de chez-nous.  Je vous présente la poutine… selon les japonais.

When travelling abroad, I feel it’s the job of any Canadian to seek out for his or her peers where to find poutine, a preparation of french fries covered with brown gravy and cheese which originated from Quebec.

The only well-known place where someone could find poutine was at the Maple Leaf in Shibuya, Tokyo, but sadly the bar closed years ago.  I was told the poutine was merely edible and the imported Labatt Blue was expensive, but being able to eat and drink something familiar was enough to forgive these inconveniences.

Luckily, I’ve heard of a restaurant chain serving poutine named Becker’s, which also serves other North American-style fast food.  One of the available side orders listed on their Web site is poutine, with the choice of gravy, meat sauce, bacon, teriyaki mayonnaise, or tuna and corn.  (The two lasts are new, and I’m certain it could also come topped with shrimp and seaweed before.)

My girlfriend and I tried the Becker’s at the eastern entrance of the Ikebukuro station yesterday, which is the nearest to our temporary apartment.  To my disappointment, there was no poutine, but I could enjoy nice chicken, with salad, spaghetti, wedges, and a croissant.  Yet, I was still hoping to try the Japanese take on the Canadian meal.

With some research on Japanese forums, my girlfriend not only found some Japanese people who like eating poutine, but also one location where poutine was sold.  Despite the complete menu displayed on their Web site, Becker’s apparently doesn’t carry their entire menu everywhere.  The smaller franchise a few minutes from Ikebukuro, between the southern exits in the JR Saikyo line’s Akabane station makes poutine.

I tried it with a chicken teriyaki burger, and to my surprise, the taste and the looks was comparable to poutine in Canada.  My girlfriend helped me film my careful degustation, described in French for my fellow Acadian poutine lovers back home.  Once in a while, eating fatty Canadian foods can’t hurt, but I’ll probably have to stick with miso soup for a few days…