Sachi Kotake has been running Arigato Grill from the Buzz Bingo car park in Pallion since August 2023, serving up katsu, yakisoba, gyoza and onigiri
The car park of a bingo hall in Pallion isn’t the first place you’d think of when searching for authentic Asian street food. However, that’s exactly what you’ll get when visiting Arigato Street Food, which operates out of a van next to Buzz Bingo, with the Metro rattling past in the background.
Sachi Kotake serves katsu curries, yakisoba, gyoza, and onigiri rice balls from her white van just off Pallion New Road. The 57-year-old has built up a loyal customer base, though a food van was never the plan when she arrived in the North East in April 2005.
She originally came to study nursing at the University of Sunderland, working in hospitals and care homes after her graduation. She started event catering in 2016, but was forced to take a break due to Covid.
In August 2023, she established Arigato and serves up street food on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays. After struggling to find a permanent site, she negotiated with Buzz Bingo who allowed her a pitch in its Pallion Car Park.
Sachi’s van in the Buzz Bingo car park in Pallion(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
At first glance, the location may seem unusual but Sachi says that she gets plenty of customers as the road is so busy, many of whom have been drawn in by the Japanese flag on the lamp post outside. Though the food is unmistakeably Japanese, she sources her ingredients locally where possible and even makes her own noodles.
Sachi told ChronicleLive: “I want to cook as much as I can using things from this environment. Only the soy sauce and yakisoba sauces are from Japan.
Sachi Kotake cooking yaki soba (stir fried noodles)(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
“I make my own noodles as the ones from the supermarket are so awful, but it’s easy to make my own!”
Sachi loves living in the North East and says the best thing about Sunderland is the people. She said: “I love the people, before I came here I was really worried about racism and that people wouldn’t understand my English.
“But they’re so nice and kind, and they try to understand my English by lip reading. They’re so lovely and very, very open-minded.”
Sachi Kotake with her yakisoba(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
She also drew parallels between Sunderland and her hometown of Fukui, which looks out over the Sea of Japan from Honshu’s North Coast. Sachi said: “It’s quite similar to my hometown close to the beach.
“It’s not busy but it’s not very, very quiet. Maybe it’s a bit quieter than here!”
Arigato is open from 11am – 3pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 11am – 6pm on Friday. For more information, visit its Facebook or Instagram pages.
AloJapan.com