Happy New (lunar) Year of the Snake.
Instead of heading down to Chinatown to watch the festivities and then to feast, we decided to stay home and celebrate the occasion by adding a few (Japanese accented) Chinese dishes to our dinner...
Gong hei fat choi to one and all!
Following up on my piece that went up today on CNNGo, here are a few more images of the four restaurant chains I highlighted.
Uogashi Nihon-Ichi is totally worth knowing. I chose the branch on Shibuya's Center-gai, which needless to say attracts an eclectic clientele.
It looks just like any other low-end sushiya, apart from the fact there are no chairs. As I point out in the piece, no frills, no lingering: no problem.
Hidakaya, on the other hand, is really only recommendable for its prices. You can't argue with ¥390 for a bowl of ramen — and less than a ¥1,000 for the same with gyoza and a flagon of Ichiban-shibori nama beer.
For those prices, just don't expect any kind of ambience.
As for Tenya, the look is so bland and dull, there seemed to be no better way to illustrate the experience than a photo of the plastic display models. In the end a generic photo of tempura was used: I hope it doesn't raise too many people's expectations...
No reservations whatsoever about Otooya, though. This is one classy chain, and they serve nothing but good solid fare. The decor is cheerful and so are the wait staff. The menu is extensive and well laid out. And it's always great value.
You'll have a very hard time finding a better teishoku anyway in town. To quote: "Unless you have a Japanese mom, this is as close as you're likely to get to the taste of home cooking while you're in the country."
Ichikanjin — as introduced in my Japan Times column last Friday — has become a bit of a favourite of ours. Mainly that's because it serves excellent ramen (more of which below). But more than that we like the feel of the place.
It's been decorated with more than a bit of style, complete with retro chandelier-type ceiling lamps and shelves of antique radios and cameras, and the sound system grooves to a constant soundtrack of bossa nova and jazz.
And then there is the appealingly whimsical motif of the little Chinese baby figurines. There are a couple of them by the door as you come in. And you'll find one peering up at you from the rim of your ramen bowl.
But bottom-line we like the food. We pretty much always start with an order of sui-gyoza. The standard version (with minced pork) is good; but we tend to order the other kind, which contain shrimp and kuwai (lily bulb), as that combination is so unusual. They are served with a pot of heavy-duty homemade chili sauce that adds a healthy dose of heat to the dip of bright, sweet-spicy sriracha sauce.
There are lots of other nice little home-made condiments — most of them spicy — and everything is beautifully laid out and garnished. The miso ramen (now regrettably discontinued) used to come adorned with mizuna herb and scarlet kukonomi (wolfberries).
And the tonyu (soymilk) ramen — still very much on the menu — comes with a scattering of benibana safflower (looking much like saffron but with none of the flavour), to go with those rich tender slices of chashu, black kikurage mushroom and fine-chopped negi scallions. The hanjuku (soft-boiled) egg is an optional extra — but highly recommended.
And then there is the tsukemen. These are chunky, heavy gauge noodles with more than a sifting of wholewheat flour in the dough. You can order in three sizes and unless you are ravenous, medium or small (as shown below) will be ample. The warm dipping sauce is thick, rich and meaty.
Once (and only once) I tried the spicy version, which comes liberally covered with fine chopped green jalapenos. I know a lot of people get off on ultra-spicy food, but for me there's no gain in that sort of pain. I'd much rather get to know some of the other dishes at Ichikanjin. Such as the summer special hiyashi chuka...
The mound of chilled noodles is topped with cuts of marinated pork, blanched onion, chopped negi scallions and sesame seeds, drizzled with a meaty-soy-vinegar sauce. The condiments on the side are piquant balsamico; a thick sauce of red chili and sesame; Chinese black vinegar; and clear rice vinegar.
As mentioned in my column, Ichikanjin lies conveniently in between Kamakura JR Station and Yuigahama beach, though not on the main drag. It's right on Yuigahama-dori, close by the Roku Jizo Crossing. Definitely worth a detour.
Here's a map...
Green tea IPA is go...
We were at the Harajuku Taproom...
This is what it's all about:
And this is what we ate with it...
An order of the gyoza (above); and Eric's umami-rich tsukune —with cheese and tomato in the mix. (that's Eric in the photo below, pouring our pint) .
I do like the sign outside. Baird Beeer and yakitori — what a great combination!
Here's a link to the promo vid…
and here's a map link to the Harajuku Taproom...
Every so often — about once a week — I have to go out looking for sustenance on the mean teen streets of Shibuya. I call this 渋食 (Shibu-shoku) although that it might just as well be called 渋ショック (Shibu shock).
Pickings are pretty lean around Center-gai, at least if you're on your own and with not enough time for a proper meal. And so ramen is often the default standby — maybe with some gyoza to start...
...followed on this day by Sapporo miso tsukemen...
The chef is a young lad, but he moves like a seasoned pro. If you serve several hundred people a day single-handed (he does have a young assistant to do the clearing up), you either learn to stand the heat — or you know the alternative.
The name is is Ajigen, and you'll find it just along from the Center-Gai McDonald's.
Food writer and restaurant reviewer for the Japan Times contact: foodfile (at) me (dot) com
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