Cardiff on a Fiver: Authentic Japanese Foods, Pop Up Cardiff/RCMA

I know, I know.

Authentic Japanese Foods are based in Jersey Marine. Which, as the eagle-eyed among you will have spotted, is not Cardiff.

However, they have been good to us folk languishing toward the eastern end of the M4 (the Welsh bit of it, anyway) by appearing at Riverside Farmers' Market (the Embankment, alternate Sundays). I had heard (very) good things about them from local blogger Cardiff In A Teacup (@cardiffteacup) and others, so when they made a recent appearance at Pop Up Cardiff in Womanby Street, it seemed a good opportunity to check them out.

Now, it is my firm belief there are two types of people in this world: those who could work with their other half, and those who would rather submit to a relaxing spot of waterboarding.

Happily for us, Paul and Izumi Anthony belong in the former and Authentic Japanese Foods is the result. Their mission is a simple one: to provide top-notch versions of the food Izumi grew up with, the food of her childhood. The food she knows and adores. And if you truly love something, you don't want to see its essence traduced by the poor, pale impostors loitering on British supermarket shelves.  Some people get sufficiently motivated to get off their arse and do something. The rest of us should be thankful for them.

After meeting in Bristol, and with some experience of the food business in kitchens in pubs and restaurants they began to develop their own vision. Simple.

Of course, it's not quite as easy as that- you have to do your preparation: your Food Safety training, developing and refining your products, researching your 'market', testing them on the public... Their Samurai Sauce, for example, took some eight months of development and refinement until they were happy with it. (Their website is currently under construction, and it will be available via mail order). Described as 'a real taste of Japan', it blends Welsh apples and garlic with imported staples- sake, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and the like- to produce something for basting, marinading, dipping, dressing...

So. The focus is on using locally sourced, typically Welsh ingredients which they love, and incorporating these into traditional Japanese dishes. My box had sushi with Swansea cockles, smoked salmon and smoked mackerel, all with that essential smack of  freshness.

A hardboiled egg had been prepared in soy sauce, some crisp pickled cucumber and a portion of carrot and pineapple salad: all zingily fresh and light, with as much (or as little) soy sauce or the hefty thwack of wasabi as you fancy.

The Vegan option features Welsh leek sushi, another nod to their commitment to melding the traditional with the local.

Japanese food is big business: AJF want to realign our understanding of its basics. They clearly have their eyes on building their business, with dreams of a Yakitori van, wide distribution and availability of Samurai sauce and a website which will provide Japanese cooking tips. That's always encouraging to hear, if you care about local food- one more to add to the slowly growing street food culture which is becoming a passion of mine.

£4, then, for that sushi box; and the spare pound remaining within my budget meant I could snag a single chicken yakitori stick (£1 each, 5 for £4) being barbecued over hot coals right there in front of us, and glazed with that Samurai Sauce. I mean, how's a man to resist?

It'd be rude not to...wouldn't it?

Twitter: @authjapafoods
Facebook: AJF