Mecha Uma

Mécha Uma: a contraction of the Japanese terms mechakucha and umai , which you might translate as “really good food.” That’s what Kohei Ohata (ex-Kitchen Galerie and KGB run by the talented William Ledeuil in Paris) serves anyways, in his café with a pistachio green bar and scrap metal chairs, which could easily be featured in the pages of Milk Déco magazine… Meanwhile, the eight or so ramen on his menu could compete in the Bol d’Or: delicious ajitama ramen topped with two slices of pork, minced chives, a perfectly soft-boiled egg and naruto (Japanese surimi with the pink circle in the middle!); hearty vegan ramen with soy beans, wakame seaweed and bamboo shoots, all bathed in a comforting soy milk broth… Along with a few well-prepared Japanese specialties, starting with the homemade soy bean bao buns for the appetizer of the day, or the lovely Japanese salad composed of tofu, wakame and mizuna leaves, topped with a nice sesame dressing. And for dessert (which wasn’t homemade, unfortunately!), there’s doughy dorayaki (Japanese pancakes stuffed with red bean paste) or green tea ice cream mochis. // Gwen Jacquère