Michelin-trained chef serves $3.30 onigiri and $13 soba noodles in Zen-like surrounds

Otogo, chef Mitsuhiro Yashio’s Zen-like onigiri and soba noodle takeaway-friendly restaurant in Ultimo, is not a clever take on food made “to go”.

Yashio says its title is inspired by Japanese food goddess Otogo who, after the death of her mother, goddess of food Ogetsuhime, was entrusted with the task of planting new grains.

Embarking on a journey to do so, she solved her quest by match-making the Japanese goddess of arms with the god of legs (both extremely long-limbed) who then allowed Otogo to sow grains on their lands.

Yashio, who trained at the Michelin-starred restaurant Akai in Japan, and also runs Yachiyo Japanese Bistro in Darlinghurst, says Otogo’s perseverance for her goal inspired him.

“We are on a mission to provide authentic Japanese cuisine that is high-quality, fast, and affordable,” he says. “[It’s] a contemporary reflection of our namesake goddess’ commitment to spreading grains across the lands.”

What Otogo would have made of the way grains – rice and buckwheat – are cooked and shaped by the restaurant’s Japanese-imported AI-instructed onigiri and soba noodle-making machines is unknown.

The onigiri machine, programmed to mimic human hands meticulously moulding rice balls, create an onigiri every six seconds. The soba noodle machine, fed with Australian buckwheat flour, makes fresh noodles every morning.

“They are very helpful,” Yashio says. “We usually do 500 pieces for onigiri each day. For the soba noodle it would be 150-200.” But not all is made via technology. Yashio and staff hand-fill each rice ball with options ranging from miso-grilled salmon to spicy pork, edamame, prawn tempura, tuna Kewpie mayo, chicken karaage, teriyaki chicken.

Ordering is done at two screen stations, similar to fast-food restaurants, which spit out numbered tickets, with diners indicating takeaway or in-house dining. Unlike major food chains, Otogo features an outdoor white pebble Zen garden with stepping stones and wide wooden benches to wait on or eat in.

There is a vast, silkily smooth communal pine table inside made by Yashio and featuring a central sunken area decorated with pebbles, tiny trees, mini stone temples, ceramic vessels and figurines. To the left a tiny top-hatted scarecrow on a mossy rock. To the right a small umbrella-holding Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro.

The food takes less than 10 minutes. Every meal is served on wide round bamboo trays and is as beautifully presented as it is extraordinarily cheap. Ready-to-roll onigiri starts at $3.30 with bigger “double-crunch” versions costing $4.50. A cup of soba noodles is $13 and there are combos including drinks that drive prices lower.

It is hard to pick and easy to over-order such is the size of each luscious, warm and weighty onigiri. Comfort food of the highest order, every rice ball is perfectly tender, not too moist and never falls apart. Drizzle with soy or chilli sauce, roll them up in their crispy forest-green nori sheets and gnaw with happiness.

Equally excellent are the soba noodles, perfectly nutty and chewy in a rich broth and available with duck, tempura or spicy pork. We also order dishes of chicken karaage, generous piles of dark golden soy marinated and deep-fried poultry, for under $10. Try everything but do not miss the kicky spicy pork, the teriyaki chicken’s rich sweetness or, Otogo’s most-popular flavour, the fragrant miso-grilled salmon.

Yashio’s foray into healthy snacks came after seeing his daughter’s choice of cheap, fast food when returning from after-school dance competitions. “She was getting unhealthy food because that’s all that was available,” Yashio says. “I created a place where you can get healthy options you can trust for all the family that’s affordable.”

He is also focused on a low-waste kitchen and sustainable practices including using imperfect fruits for drinks including a warm sweet yuzu and lemon tea. And, in the vein of fast food chains, there is soft serve ice-cream, a cute, waffle-cone version flavoured with vanilla and Japanese soft drink Calpico. Otogo is open for 12 hours every day but there are plans to open a 24-hour restaurant.

The area’s high school and university student population means there is never a shortage of customers. “We want to help young people have healthy food,” Yashio says. “We want to help families. We want people to trust fast, affordable food they can eat every day.”

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