特製かき揚天丼、￥２１００。
Tempura restaurant which is quite expensive at night, but at lunch time, other than the tempura set(tempura and rice come separately) and tempura full courses with prices ranging from 5000yen to 7000yen, a more purse-friendly option of 2100yen kakiage-tendon(very delicious) is also available. The content of the tendon changes with seasons - when we went there were asparagus, soramame, small prawn, scallop etc. in it. The chef used to work in the famous tempura restaurant in Yamonoue hotel which I have tried before and is a big fan. Reservation at lunch is only possible if you order the more expensive set/course. I went without reservation on a weekday, arriving at around 12:30pm and it wasn’t so full. But while we were eating people kept coming in and just before 13pm, the place was packed. It is a small restaurant with mainly counter seats but there are also two tables for two.
Lunch menu(J) here.
天ぷら 深町
Add: 2-5-2, Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-5250-8777
穴子フライ、￥３６７５。カツレツ、￥２６２５。
Took a friend to try this super expensive but also super delicious tonkatsu place. Had the standard “Katsu-retsu”. Also tried the “Anago Fry” for the first time - 3675yen is crazy(rice and miso soup not included) but they give you two big pieces and damn they just taste so good that you don’t regret paying(though I didn’t have to pay at the end hohoho).
(20 Sep 2007)
Yoshoku restaurant established since 1905. I was a bit dazed when I saw the menu…a salad is 1050yen, deep-fried seafood is 3000~4000yen, cow tongue stew is 4200yen…good thing my target was katsu-retsu(i.e. tonkatsu) which is an affordable(relatively speaking) 2625yen. Rice and soup and pickles are an additional 525yen. Seriously, it never cease to amaze me how yoshoku sometimes can be so expensive and yet many people are so willing to pay. I mean you can have a full course French lunch with that amount of money. Anyway, the cutlet turned out to be quite delicious. ^^;;; Coating is thick but crispy. Apparently thick and floury coating is the traditional style for deep-fried things in Japan. I guess people in the past didn’t worry so much about calories. The pork is fried twice, first very slowly in low heat oil, and then a quick finish in very hot oil. It did take a long time for it to come. The pork is a thick huge piece, has very little fat, soft and tender, feels a bit sandy in the mouth and not the juicy kind but I like it a lot. Didn’t feel ill afterwards but apparently it is fried in lard….There is only a bottle of sauce on the table which I reckon is for the cutlet but I prefer eating it just with salt and mustard. Oh, I sat in the counter(only 4 seats) on the first floor and there was only a salaryman eating alone. He was drinking wine and eating a plate of something, and I overheard his bill was over 13,000yen…^^;; I found an English review here.
Couldn’t resist and went back to try “Ebi korokke”, i.e. Prawn croquette. With rice and miso soup, it is 3150yen also. Very expensive…but it is so delicious! Inside the perfectly-fried crust are corn cream and big chunks of prawns. Only two croquettes but they are quite big. Though I think the pork cutlet is of better value. I want to try other things in the menu….but the price is just too high!!
Menu(J) 1, 2.
ぽん多本家 (Ponta Honke)
Add: 3-23-3 Ueno, Taito-ku
Tel: 03-3831-2351
天丼、￥３３６０。
Tendon: prawn, kakiage with prawn, fish and shishitou pepper.
Very famous tempura restaurant inside Hilltop Hotel. It was a bit of a quest to find the entrance…I went to the annex building, couldn’t find it, got out, went into the main building, couldn’t find it, got out, followed the tempura-ish smell and finally found the small sign leading to the hidden entrance outside the hotel building. ^^;;
かき揚げ天丼、￥２８８７。穴子天丼、￥３４６５。
Kakiage-tendon. Anago tendon.
野菜天丼、￥２８８７。 天丼、￥３３６０。
Took a friend there and I had Yasai Tendon and she had Tendon. The prices include 5% tax and 10% service charge(even at lunch time!).
The sauce is this restaurant’s original and you can choose between “amakuchi”(甘口) and “karakuchi”(辛口). The staff said they are just the same sauce - “karakuchi” is just less sweet than “amakuchi”. I personally prefer karakuchi.
Probably the most “elegant” tendon I have ever had. All the tendon I had before felt cheap in comparison…both taste-wise and price-wise. ^^;;;
There are other lunch menu such as Ebi(prawn) Tendon, a luxurious Iki-Ebi Tendon which has a whooping price tag of 5040yen(plus tax and SC of course). Tempura full courses are also available at lunch time. Seating includes counter, tables, and zashiki.
Lunch menu(J): 1, 2.
山の上ホテル
Hilltop Hotel/Yamanoue Hotel(English available)
There is also a Roppongi branch inside Tokyo Midtown.
The bright, bold, eccentric interior looks more like a Turkish restaurant than a soba place! You sit on colourful cushions and eat off low tables.
里いものうま煮。 だし巻玉子。
Satoimo no umani(simmered taro) is a bit straight-from-the-fridge cold. Dashi maki tamago(dashi-flavoured eggroll) is Kyoto-style, i.e. not sweet. Freshly made and hot, very good!
みそ田楽（粟・よもぎ・生麩）。
3 types of miso dengaku(broiled miso-topped skewers) - awa(millet), yomogi(mugwort), fu(wheat gluten). The miso is a bit salty but still very good.
追っかけ皿そば。
Cold black soba. Comes with a bowl of raw egg, lots of negi(spring onion), tororo(grated yam), wasabi and tsuyu(dipping sauce). You are supposed to mix the ingredients like the way you mix natto…and dip the soba to the foamy sauce to eat. 5 small plates are for one person. The soba has an acquired taste which I am not so crazy about. Worth trying once though. This soba shop is originally from Kyoto and the madam is an interesting character who gave us a lecture about how the way you sit can affect your ability to attract a man….err….^^;;; One of the two waitresses is from Burma and the other is also Asian - both are very cute and friendly! Two of us shared the food, plus a drink each, about 3000yen per person.
Menu(J) here.
竹邑庵太郎敦盛
Add: 3-15-6 Shinbashi, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5473-8803
Dessert is sakura-mochi.
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