After two intense weeks of a silent trial run, Chef Yuval Ben Neriah opens Ya-Pan (Japan in Hebrew). Following the success of Taizu and his Japanese Miazaki Bar at Shuk Tzafon, this time Ben Neria decided to dig deeper into the Japanese tradition, determined to bring real Japanese street food to Tel Aviv.
"Last year I traveled to Japan twice, each time for a three-week tour mainly in Tokyo and Kyoto, to understand the Japanese street food, the mentality, the attitude towards raw materials and minimalism. From the get-go, it was clear that this would be the basis for our new creation.
When Ben Neria uses “we," he’s referring to chef Eilon Farber, his partner in the kitchen.
The result is a particularly tight menu, or as Ben Neria states: “Taizu has its limitations, I felt the need to move forward because very few people in Israel really touched the Japanese kitchen, so I decided it was time to really study it. In spite of the the trips to Japan and the eagerness to learn from them, I have no commitment to authenticity, ‘Ya-Pan’ is my interpretation of Japanese street food, where some of the products are close to the original and others rely on abstract ideas."
What's on the menu?
The food served at Ya-Pan presents a wide range of new flavors for the Israeli culinary scene, including Japanese curry udon, katsu Carry (Japanese schnitzel), Japanese meat or fish dishes served alongside well-known classical Japanese dishes or classical bistro dishes that were taken care of “Japanese-style”.
© Yafit Simacha
© Yafit Simacha
You can also find DIY sushi and a creative hamburger in an airy bun (just as the Japanese like it), potato fries that have been cooked using countless methods, and surprisingly, you will also find bread and butter. The butter contains nuri seaweed and a special green foam that found its way to Tel Aviv.
What else? A variety of slow-cooked curry dishes (NIS 68-92), calamari or veal testicles on skewers, a Japanese roast beef sandwich (NIS 38), sake drinks and matcha-based desserts.
The new restaurant is a local Tel Avivian-Japanese bistro - which means there are no reservations in advance. The concept? Just come.
Ya-Pan, 26 Nachmani St. Tel Aviv, Mon-Sat 19:00-23:00