PickPHO, a unique take on southeast Asian cuisine in Kanazawa

At first glance, it’s hard to get a sense of what all is beyond the understated sign board outside the restaurant’s entrance. There’s an illustration of someone eating noodles and, since the Vietnamese word for noodles is “pho,” I made an educated guess that I would find a menu with noodles on it. In fact, my first impression upon entering PickPHO is to wonder if this is a noodle restaurant or an art space. 

©PickPHO

PickPHO, it turns out, is located inside a cleverly renovated old structure. It could easily have once been a family home or a cozy shop. Now, the first floor ceiling of the common room has been removed, as have most of the interior walls on the second floor, showing off the dark wooden beams and joints of the house’s sturdy bones. With its anatomy on display, I spent as much time gawping at the interior as the artworks.

So, is PickPHO a restaurant or an art space?  When I asked the owner about it, he told me it’s both of those things and so much more. It’s a community of artists, musicians, and fashion aficionados organized by the restaurant’s owner, Junya Ohwaki.

©PickPHO

Junya is a native of Kanazawa City, but one who grew up at the city’s seaside. His love of surfing has taken him all over Asia, from Thailand to Vietnam to Indonesia. While there, he fell in love with the energetic atmosphere and the local cuisine. After more than ten years of experience working in some of Kanazawa’s Asian-themed cafes, restaurants, and bars, Junya took the plunge and opened PickPHO in Kanazawa’s quaint Kakinoki-batake (Persimmon Grove) neighborhood.

“What was your inspiration?” I ask him.

“I wanted to create a space where people can enjoy good food, interesting art, stimulating music, and even current fashion.”

Knowing how finicky people in Kanazawa can be about food, especially foods with very strong and exotic flavors, I asked Junya, “Is that why you use your own recipes for your soups instead of authentic southeast Asian ingredients?”

“Yes,” he answers, smiling, “I wanted to make food that everyone can enjoy. I sampled dishes in every country I visited and then I decided to pick-and-choose what I liked.”

Hence the name: PickPHO.

©PickPHO

The soup he serves with gluten-free rice noodles (made by a Vietnamese company based out of Tokyo) are his own original recipes. The herbs used in his recipes are supplied by local farmers whenever possible. “Community is important,” he insists. “That’s one reason why the menu has vegan options – it’s food that everyone can eat.”

“What do Vietnamese customers think of your take on their country’s cuisine?”

“They say it’s interesting. A new taste that they enjoy.”

One taste in particular that I enjoy is the vegan desserts in the display case. “Where do these come from?” I ask Junya and he tells me about a local woman who has been making vegan sweets with aesthetic flair for over a decade.

“What does PickPHO, as a business, mean to you?”

“It’s my aim to bring different interests together: music, art, culture, fashion, food… It’s all for the enjoyment of a new experience.”

“So, what is unique about your restaurant?”

“The people!” Junya immediately declares. “Of course the staff and artists and shopkeepers, but also the customers. We’re a community.”

Events are held, too, for art exhibition openings and closings, plus occasional collaborations with other local restaurants that bring food, art, and people together.

“I live in Japan,” Junya says, “where we have delicious food – vegetables and rice in particular. It’s peaceful, full of art and history that you can enjoy wherever you go. And people in the countryside are especially kind. And here in Kanazawa, between the mountains and the ocean, old history and new, with gold leaf crafts and old samurai neighborhoods, it’s just very interesting.”

A community unlike any other.

©PickPHO

This article was written by Keri Yazawa

About Keri Yazawa
Keri Yazawa has been a resident of Kanazawa City since 2005 and enjoys cycling, stamp-making, and tofu!

©Keri Yazawa