When I lived in Shimokita (Shimokitazawa, a trendy cultural district steeped in the atmosphere of old Tokyo), I was a regular at the Nodaiwa restaurant, which was very famous for cooking eel. Its head office was in Azabu Jyuban, a district that I also frequented a lot. Since then, I have associated eel with Nodaiwa.
When I moved to Paris, I was very surprised to learn that this restaurant existed in the capital. It was no coincidence that a successor had opened in Paris. I took this as a sign that I could envisage my future here. Today, Nodaiwa is so successful that you have to book. Yet I would have thought that the French would be perplexed to know that you can enjoy this fish, which is part of their culinary repertoire, with sweet sauce. Eel kabayaki is prepared as follows: the fish is cut open lengthwise, the bones are removed and it is put on a spit. Then it is grilled and seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake before being grilled again over a wood fire. It's similar to teriyaki, you know?