"60 Years Unwashed Jar Is the Secret to Flavor" Controversy at Famous Japanese Restaurant

"Unsanitary" vs "Adds Deep Flavor" Different Perspectives
Amid Growing Controversy, Sauce Jar Washed for the First Time in 60 Years

A famous restaurant in Japan has sparked controversy by revealing a sauce jar that has never been washed for 60 years as the secret to its flavor. The restaurant in question is an izakaya located in Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo, boasting an 80-year history.

On the 3rd (local time), Hong Kong media outlet Hong Kong Economic Times introduced the sauce jar of a famous Tokyo restaurant and reported that it has caused an online controversy.

This restaurant recently appeared on a broadcast and revealed a secret sauce jar with a thick layer of sauce hardened on the surface due to not being cleaned for a long time.
[Photo by Hong Kong Economic Times]

The secret of this restaurant, whose main menu is kebabs, lies in the jar containing the sauce. The jar has not been wiped clean of the sauce flowing on its surface for many years, resulting in a thick hardened layer, which has shocked netizens who saw it.

According to News Every, the restaurant opened 80 years ago, developed the secret sauce 60 years ago, and has never washed the jar used for the sauce since then. They keep pouring newly made sauce into the jar that has not been washed for 60 years.

Over decades, the sauce has layered and covered the outside of the jar, forming a solid mass. The owner, who is running the restaurant in its third generation, dips kebabs deeply into the sauce contained in this jar and serves them to customers.

The sauce has flowed layer by layer over decades, covering the outside of the jar and forming a solid mass. The owner, who has been running this place for three generations, dips kebabs deeply into the sauce contained in this jar and serves them to customers.
[Photo by News Every]

He explained, "The restaurant has been passed down through three generations without ever washing the jar," and "When the sauce in the earthenware jar decreases, we continuously refill it with new sauce."

After the secret of the restaurant was revealed through the broadcast, a debate broke out among netizens.

Some netizens reacted with comments such as "It's disgusting," "It's too unhygienic," "What if bacteria grow?" and "It might violate hygiene laws."

On the other hand, other netizens responded, "It's only a problem if they secretly don't wash it, but since all the customers who visit the restaurant know and still eat it, it doesn't matter," and "It's a signature sauce unique to the restaurant that creates a deep flavor, so what's the problem?"

As the controversy continued, the restaurant washed the sauce jar for the first time in 60 years, but there are still criticisms that it remains unhygienic.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.