Namja Town (ナムコ・ナンジャタウン)

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0809220018“Sasebo burger Big Man”(佐世保バーガービッグマン) inside Namja Town in Ikebukuro. Sasebo burger’s homepage here. Originally from Sasebo(Nagasaki) and now has a few branches in Tokyo. I had the most popular Bacon and egg burger(500yen). The bun, the patty, the bacon and of course the egg are all very soft which makes it easy-to-eat and kinda fast-food-ish(Or is it a fast food chain?). The coffee(330yen) and the fried cheese balls(400yen) aren’t very good though.

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Miracle Fruit Cafe(ミラクルフルーツ カフェ) is the reason I paid the 300yen of entrance fee to Namja Town for. Read about Miracle fruit here. I had the sourest parfait “Super lemon with lemon jelly”(680yen). Miracle fruit needs to be ordered separately(250yen for one). After chewing and licking the miracle fruit as much as I can for a few mintues without swallowing, the lemon slices and sugar-less lemon jelly taste nicely sweet, but towards the end I can taste the sourness coming back already. Fresh fruit platter maybe a better choice as you can try how different fruits turn sweet after eating the Miracle fruit. Apparently all the “desserts” in the menu are under 100kcal!

Namja Town (ナムコ・ナンジャタウン)

ブタ肉専門定食店 BOOMIN

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0711230007アボカドのサラダ。豚バラの香味野菜煮込み。肩ロースのナンプラー煮込み。
Third visit. Avocado salad. Simmered pork belly with vegetables. Simmered pork shoulder loin with nam pla(has noodles in it). A small shop specialised in pork. Food is simple but nice. Two of us ordered a rice(M) to share, only 2300yen in total(excluding drinks). Very cheap!
Dinner menu(J): here and here.

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トンデキセット、950円。
Second visit. Pork steak set. Comes in a hot plate, the sauce is butter and caper, very good! I was the first customer and after me, two people ordered the same set and it got sold out already! The steak is nice but the pork I had in my first visit(below) was more juicy and fatty. The shop looks so cute, you wouldn’t imagine the menu is all pork and the cooks and customers are all guys. ^^;;

060125 009.jpgFirst visit. Grilled pork lunch, 780yen. The pork is very very good!!! Very juicy and soft, with just the right amount of fat. The sauce is a bit salty but goes well with rice.

BOOMIN

Restaurant Maison de Famille@要町

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ランチ2100円。
長ネギとブリ・ド・モーのグラタン。
仔羊のクネル、クミンシード風味。
Lunch is 2100yen.
Long leek and Brie de Meaux gratin. A bit oily.
Lamb quenelle with cumin seed. Bottom layer is tomato and mushroom; ground lamb meat in the middle; onion and cheese and cumin on top; basil oil sauce and potato gratin on the side. The tomato gets quite watery and a bit too much basil oil, but overall it is okay.
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林檎の赤ワイン煮のカスタードケーキ、シナモン風味、いちごのケーキ、ヨーグルトのシャーベット。
Custard cake with apple simmered in red wine. Strawberry cake. Yogurt sorbet. The desserts are so-so.

Taste-wise it is nothing special. They keep giving you bread which is not warm but still quite good. The restaurant is right next to an university though the price range seems to keep the students away. The table next to me was a bunch of professors and office staffs. I remember this place used to be a cheap bistro but has changed to a proper French restaurant.
Maison de Famille

Bengal Cafe (ベンガルカフェ)

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060219 083サモサ。マトンカレーとナン。
Samosa, mutton curry, naan. 1500yen. Samosa is good. The rest is okay. The naan is strong with butter. I only ordered naan but the cook said there was leftover rice so he just added it for free. He also said there was a leftover egg so he put into the mutton curry as well….other than the samosa everything tasted very “leftover” actually…^^;;;;
Bengal Cafe

南北亭

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カシューナッツと鶏肉炒め定食、750円。
Stir-fried cashew nuts and chicken lunch set. Slightly oily but huge portion and very cheap.
南北亭

魚遊膳 開華亭

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060210 007うなぎ蒲焼の柳川風、さつま揚げ、竹の子土佐煮、890円。
Unagi with egg, Yanagawa-styled. Comes with satsuma-age(fish cake), and bamboo shoots with bonito flakes. Quite good~. Also comes with free Japanese plum wine even on a weekday.
開華亭