Wakako Zake Season 8, Episode 1: The Best Chicken Nanban

A toast to Showa retro

When Wakako (Takeda Rina) asks the depressed Chief Okada (Shiotsuka Kohei) why, he says that his daughter called him old-fashioned for a certain reason. From there, the conversation turns to "Showaism"... Obsessed with the Showa era, Wakako finds a retro izakaya on her way home from work and stops in. She enjoys simple dishes like pickled vegetables and ham cutlets with draft beer, but is captivated by something a nearby customer is eating with relish. Completely engrossed in Showa retro, Wakako goes on a special Showa-era hopping spree in Oimachi, which Okada had told her about, on another day.

30 min

Authentic Chinese and local Chinese

Wakako (Takeda Rina) is inspired to cook after eating Mii-san's (Yamada Kinuo) homemade dish, pork trotters, for lunch, and heads to a Chinese food store in Ikebukuro. There she discovers an authentic Chinese food court next door, and decides to go in. ▼She is unsure what to do as there are a variety of Chinese restaurants lined up, including those from Shanghai, Sichuan, and Taiwan, but she starts by ordering some cold Sichuan skewers and a Chinese beer, and continues to enjoy new flavors. ▼On another day, she visits a local Chinese restaurant and enjoys a delicious dish along with a bottle of Japanese beer - what is this sure-fire dish?!

30 min

Taste of Hokuriku in Tokyo

After trying the souvenir sweets from Fukui that Ito (Hasegawa Shinya) brought back, Wakako (Takeda Rina) heads to Kagurazaka, where there is a shop selling Fukui specialties. ▼She finds a shop that has been converted from an old house and is about to enter, but is attracted by a sign for "soy sauce katsudon" on the second floor and decides to eat there first. ▼After that, she returns to the standing bar on the first floor and enjoys the rich flavors of Fukui's "heshiko" and "sake kasu cheese" along with some Japanese sake. ▼Having liked the flavors of the Hokuriku region, Wakako visits a restaurant serving Toyama cuisine on another day. While enjoying a rare "assortment of kombu-jime fish delivered directly from Himi" with some delicious Toyama sake, she hears the voices of a brother and sister (Raicho) speaking in a pleasant dialect...

30 min

The deliciousness of smoke

When Murasaki Wakako (Takeda Rina) is drawn to the smell of smoke in Mizonokuchi for the first time on business, she finds herself in a restaurant district reminiscent of a Showa era amusement park! ▼ Smoke rises from the charcoal grills outside the restaurant, and Wakako makes her way through the restaurant, which is so hazy it's hard to see what's ahead. She's amazed by the great value menu! ▼ With a large draft beer in hand, Wakako grills pork belly and innards. The meat gradually transforms...!? ▼ Fascinated by the smoke, Wakako visits a shop that smokes various items on another day, but the entrance is difficult to find, like a "secret base."

30 min

Flaming Camembert

Wakako (Takeda Rina) can't get the delicious-looking bread that Mii-san (Yamada Kinuo) had for lunch out of her head. However, at night she is drawn to a shop with a red lantern. ▼While ordering yakitori and other dishes, for some reason she sees the words "curry bread" written on it! Attracted, she orders it, and it is piping hot...! ▼On another day, she goes to an Italian restaurant. She orders a dish called flaming camembert along with stir-fried cabbage with garlic and anchovies, and it is literally fire...!

30 min

The chef and his taste

On her way home from an errand for work, Wakako (Takeda Rina) happens to drop into a store that catches her eye and sees many bottles of sake lined up. ▼It's an unusual system where you can choose between all-you-can-drink or one glass at a time, and the gourmet food is left to the discretion of the chef. Wakako finds a sake from Oku-Noto and tries it. ▼It's sake from a brewery in the disaster-stricken area, and Wakako is deeply moved by the sake, which she says was delivered after a series of efforts. ▼On another day, when she goes to Komori-tei, where Aoyagi (Kamakari Kenta) works, the head chef (Tsuda Kanji) greets her with a smile. Just then, someone comes in...!

Morning activities!

When Wakako (Takeda Rina) hears that Hasegawa (Sakoi Takayuki) wakes up early in the morning and gets more done at work, she decides to give it a try herself. ▼One day on a holiday morning, while taking a walk around Sugamo, she discovers a bar that's open from the morning. When she goes in, it's already bustling with regulars. Wakako enjoys a dish called "Aho Kitsune" along with beer and alcohol. ▼On another day, Wakako visits a restaurant that Mii-san (Yamada Kinuo) calls the "Queen of Breakfast." To have an elegant breakfast, she plans to order eggs Benedict with sparkling wine, but everything looks so delicious that she can't decide which type to get...

My first town sushi

Wakako (Takeda Rina) wanders from Kiyosumi Shirakawa to Morishita, a fashionable town with a downtown atmosphere. ▼ She suddenly finds a sushi restaurant... She musters up her courage and decides to try drinking alone at a sushi restaurant for the first time. ▼ While wondering what to order, she follows the example of the other customers and orders ark shell sashimi and winter delicacy "monkfish liver ponzu". ▼ On another day, Wakako, who was wandering from Kanamecho to Senkawa as usual, is drawn to a soba restaurant standing alone in a residential area. ▼ The inside of the store is bustling with various local people, including single customers, couples, and families... ▼ When she orders cold sake, it comes with "wasabi"! She also orders "yuba sashimi" and "duck tataki and soba crepe", which she had a flash of inspiration for.

A long-established Western restaurant and motherly love

Wakako (Takeda Rina) goes sightseeing in Tokyo with her mother (Shimazaki Wakako), who has come to the city for the first time in a long time. After riding a rickshaw in Asakusa and watching a comedy show, they go to a long-established Western restaurant. ▼Along with wine, they share beef stew, beef tenderloin steak, and crab salad. They are blown away by the rich demi-glace of the Western food. ▼The next day, the two decide to stroll around Ginza until it's time to catch their Shinkansen train, but...their meal from the previous day was so delicious that they end up going back to the long-established Western restaurant. ▼This time they order the traditional flavors of the restaurant: shrimp macaroni gratin, omelet rice, and pork chops. The macaroni is surprisingly long...!

Asian food and alcohol

Wakako (Takeda Rina) is tired from a string of simple tasks at the office. On her way home from work, she is attracted by a sign that says "Prairie Cuisine" and an illustration of a sheep at the entrance, and so she goes into a Mongolian restaurant. She is about to order beer and Mongolian dumplings, but is unsure whether to order pan-fried dumplings or boiled dumplings, but decides to go for pan-fried dumplings. However, there are three types of fillings: "pickled Chinese cabbage," "coriander," and "celery," and she is unsure again. She is liberated by the fresh taste of the appetizer and dumplings... After liberating herself from the Mongolian cuisine, Wakako goes to a restaurant that serves cuisine from various countries on another day. Encouraged by the Laotian beer and fermented sausage, Wakako orders some Nepalese street food, which is cute and round...

White-grilled treat

On a Friday night after finishing a part of her work, Wakako (Takeda Rina) made a reservation at an eel restaurant, which she had been looking forward to, as a reward to herself. ▼ Along with cold Hokkaido sake, she ate "Shirayaki eel" and other dishes. It was surprisingly plump and soft, so tender that it almost broke when she picked it up with chopsticks...! ▼ On another day, Wakako stopped by her favorite restaurant, "Oraku." She was greeted by newcomer Yamamoto (Kadouma Wataru) and when she went inside, she found that Tetsuya (Tsujimoto Tatsunori), the son of the head chef (Nozoe Yoshihiro), had come from Takayama in Gifu to help out, worried about his father who was running the restaurant alone. ▼ As she ate "shrimp and avocado salad" and "Chikuzen stew," Wakako was immersed in the happy world of connections made by drinking outside.