Silk Road in Nakano?! Travel to Uzbekistan at "Vatanim" on Yakushi Ai Road in Nakano, Tokyo

Hello. I'm Bonjiri, a Nakano Tourism Reporter. I live in Nakano with my family of three, and I'm raising a one-year-old boy. This time I'd like to introduce "Vatanim" located in the Yakushi Ai Road shopping arcade in Nakano, Tokyo. It's a 7-minute walk from Araiyakushimae Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line and a 12-minute walk from JR Nakano Station, and is a restaurant where you can enjoy Uzbek cuisine, which is rare even in Tokyo.

The restaurant's name, "Vatanim," means "hometown" in Uzbek, and many Uzbeks living in Japan visit the restaurant in search of a taste of their hometown.

Upon entering, you are greeted by the Uzbek flag.

There are tatami seating areas available, so even if you have small children with you, you can feel at ease. My child was also able to relax there.

(Registan Square)

Here is a brief introduction to Uzbekistan. It is a historic country that flourished as a base on the Silk Road in Central Asia, and is especially famous for the Registan Square in Samarkand. My husband, who visited there a few years ago, returned home impressed by its beauty.

We spoke with the owners, Mr. Yamaguchi and his wife, Ali, who are from Uzbekistan.

(Ari (left) and Yamaguchi (right) husband and wife)

Yamaguchi became the owner in April 2021. Prior to that, he was a company employee, but when the previous owner decided to sell the shop, Yamaguchi, who was a customer, took over.

The popular menu item is profif.

It is a rice dish from Uzbekistan that is served on special occasions. It is packed with ingredients such as beef, carrots, chickpeas, and raisins! It has a deep flavor with a hint of cumin, and is not too strong, so it can be enjoyed by both children and adults.

We were even shown the freshly made ones!

After frying the ingredients in oil, rice is placed on top, water is added and the rice is steamed. Chibi Nakano seems happy to have made friends from Uzbekistan.

And non is an essential ingredient in Uzbek cuisine.

As you can see, it's packed with stuffing! It's the national dish of Uzbekistan, and Uzbeks eat non with plov as a side dish. It has a simple wheat flavor and is delicious with soup or meat dishes. The distinctive depression in the middle is apparently made with a special stamp. We were given a special look.

(Stamp to make the indentation of the non)

"If you don't make a depression in the middle, it will puff up too much and won't taste good," says Ali.

A popular meat dish is the langet, which comes as a set of meat wrapped around a boiled egg and a hamburger steak with rice.

Tandil samsa is a special dish that can only be found here among Uzbek restaurants in Tokyo.

The inside is packed with minced lamb. It is made by sticking it to the oven, which requires skill and time. "It's so popular that Uzbek customers even call to ask, 'Do you have tandir samsa?' before coming to eat it," says Yamaguchi.

There are many other special dishes by the chef.

Kaburumaragmon.

Manti.

The food is prepared by an Uzbek chef with over 10 years of experience. The noodles for the Kaburmalagmon and the manti wrappers are all handmade. Cumin, which is essential to Uzbek cuisine, is also sourced locally. "Even if Japanese people make it in the same way, for some reason it doesn't taste the same," says Yamaguchi. It is precisely because the food is made by an Uzbek chef that the taste of home can be recreated.

(Flag of Uzbekistan)

Take-out is also available, so you can enjoy Uzbek cuisine at home. Why not come and feel the breeze of the Silk Road on Yakushi Ai Road?

Vatanim

Address: Okada Building 1F, 1-36-9 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo

Access: 7 minutes on foot from Araiyakushimae Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, 12 minutes on foot from the north exit of Nakano Station on the JR Chuo Line

Phone: 03-6454-0689

Business hours: 12:00 to 15:00, 17:00 to 21:00

Closed: Mondays (open on public holidays)