macchinesti coffee (マキネスティコーヒー)

Posted on April 30, 08 by seat

Corn soup with bread.

Cafe Latte.

Egg Benedict. I have been wanting to try the Egg Benedict in this place for so long but somehow never got around to it. The quality doesn’t disappoint at all! The best I have eaten so far(not that I’ve tried that many).

There are two branches of this coffee shop in the same area. Only this branch in Azabu-Juban does Egg Benedict, which is only available on weekends and it runs out quickly. We went at around 12 on a Sunday and the place was quite packed but we managed to get seats. When we lined up in front of the counter to get our food, my friend ordered hers first, and when my turn came, the staff told me they had run out of Egg Benedict! My other friend bebind me and I were so devastated – we came especially for it. For about 5 mins not knowing whether to order something else or go someplace else, I tried begging the staff saying that we came a long way just to eat the Egg Benedict here. Then the male staff said that if we could wait for 30mins then he will make them for us. Of course we wait!! So I ordered the corn soup cos I was so hungry, though it took them almost half an hour to prepare the corn soup anyway….The food was so good that it was worth the effort but gosh why is it so difficult to get a bloody Egg Benedict in Japan?! ^^;;;

macchinesti coffee Azabu Juban (マキネスティコーヒー)
Add: 2-23-12 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5562-6118

吟ばん (Ginban)

Posted on April 17, 08 by seat

日替わり：さんま一味干し、￥１０００。
Sanma with chilli.

海鮮丼、￥１２００。
Kaisen-don(seafood rice bowl).

穴子海老天丼、￥１０００。
Anago and ebi(prawn) tendon(tempura on rice).

紅鮭ハラス焼き、お刺身付き、￥１０００。
Grilled salmon belly, with sashimi.

特製和牛丼、￥１０００。
Special Gyudon.

さば醤油干し、￥１０００。
Grilled Saba(Mackerel) which is marinated in soy sauce and dried beforehand.

Very good-quality washoku lunch place. Everything I ordered was delicious and the ingredients tasted fresh. The portion is not big but adequate. Lunch always comes with 2 small appetizers and rice is refillable. There are many small private rooms and I never have to share tables with strangers even I always go alone during busy lunch hour on weekdays.

Lunch menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

吟ばん(Ginban)
Add: 1-17 Sudacho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel:03-3252-1030

めん徳二代目つじ田神田御茶ノ水店 (Mentoku Nidaime Tsujita)

Posted on April 16, 08 by seat

二代目らーめん、￥９００。二代目つけめん、￥９８０。
Nidaime ramen. The soup is slightly thick but not a bit greasy or salty – very nice to drink.
Nidaime tsukemen. Seems like the most popular item on the menu. The shop’s instructions are: for the first 1/3 of the ramen, just eat with the dipping soup alone. Then squeeze the sudachi into the ramen and mix well. For the last 1/3 of the ramen, add the black chilli pepper. The noodles are elastic and very chewy. After you’ve finished the ramen, you can ask the staff to add soup into the leftover.

チャーシューごはん、￥３００。らーめん、￥７００。
Chashu with rice. It is a lot of pork – not bad but quite salty.
Ramen. Same as Nidaime Ramen but with less toppings.

二代目ごはん、￥２８０。つけめん、￥７８０。
Nidaime gohan – just rice with chopped pickled cucumber(also okra I think). A bit too simple for 280yen maybe?
Tsukemen. Same as Nidaime Tsukemen but with less toppings.

There is always a queue outside but the staff are very efficient so the wait is never longer than 15mins even during lunch hours at weekends. There is a bench outside for you to sit and wait and even help yourself to some hot tea.

(Apr 15, 2009)
On a recent visit. Had Nidaime tsukemen. Still very good.

めん徳二代目つじ田神田御茶ノ水店 (Mentoku Nidaime Tsujita)
Add: 1-4 Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-5256-3200

Ethiopia (エチオピア)

Posted on April 15, 08 by seat

野菜カリー、￥９３０。
Vegetable curry rice.

インド豆サラダ、￥１８０。
Indian bean salad is quite big and has tuna in it. All curry rice come with a potato and butter.

チキン＋野菜カリー、￥１２３０。マンゴーラッシー、￥２７０。
Chicken and vegetables curry. Mango Lassi.

グリーンサラダ、￥１８０。ビーフカリー、￥８８０。
Green salad. Beef curry.

豆カリー、￥８８０。
Beans curry.

エビ＋野菜カリー、￥１２３０。チャイ、￥２７０。
Prawn and vegetables curry. Hot Chai.

ビーフと野菜カリー、￥１２３０。杏仁豆腐（マンゴーソース）、￥２７０。
Beef and vegetables curry. Almond pudding with Mango sauce.

There are many curry shops around Jimbocho area but this place is definitely one of my favourites. The curries served here are supposed to be Indian style despite the name of the shop. Tiny place with counter seats on the first floor and tables on the second. You buy tickets from a machine, then tell the staff how spicy you want it. Hotness level is up to “70”. I tried “0” and “1” at first, which are not hot at all. Level “3” is slightly spicy, while “5” and “10” are quite spicy. For me “10” is spicy enough – I don’t have very high tolerance. I heard people asking for “50” so I guess it is edible….The meat(beef and chicken) in the curries are okay, not fantastic, but the vegetables are delicious and very well cooked with the spice(more than 20 kinds used apparently). Drinks like chai and mango lassi are good too.

Menu(J): 1, 2.

エチオピア
Add:3-10-6, Ogawamachi, Kanda
Tel:03-3295-4310

ブタ肉専門定食店 BOOMIN

Posted on March 30, 08 by seat

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.

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. ^^;;

First 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

神田まつや (Kanda Matsuya)

Posted on March 16, 08 by seat

大ごまそば、￥８５０。
Famous soba place established in 1884. The present building – dated from 1925 – is one of the historical architectures in Tokyo.

そばとろ、￥９００。天丼、￥１９００。
Soba toro(grated yam). Tendon(rice with prawn tempura).

かしわ南ばん、￥９５０。力うどん、￥９５０。
Kashiwa(chicken) Nanban. Chikara(grilled mochi) udon.

にしんそば、￥１０００。鴨南ばん、￥１６００。
Nishin soba – soba with smoked sweet-flavoured herring(Kyoto origin). The fish tastes like the canned ones…not my cup of tea.
Kamo-nanban(Duck soba). Very good!

親子南ばん、￥１０００。花巻、￥８５０。
Oyako(chicken and egg) Nanban. Hana-maki – soba with seaweed.

鴨せいろう、￥１６００。カレー南ばん、￥９５０。
Kamo(duck) Seiro. Curry Nanban.

鍋焼うどん、￥１０００。
Nabe-yaki udon – udon hotpot.

おかめとじ、￥１０００。おかめ、￥９５０。
(Right)Okame soba : soba with Yuba, tamago-yaki, shiitake mushroom, kamaboko, bamboo shoot, seaweed, spinach.
(Left)Okame-toji soba: Okame soba with egg on top. Very good!

寄せ鍋うどん、￥１２００。小田巻きむし、￥１１００。
Yosenabe Udon. Super delicious! So many ingredients(including my beloved mochi) in it.
Odamakimushi: chawanmushi with udon(just a little bit) at the bottom. Need to wait for 15mins but totally worth it.

かき揚天丼、￥１０００。雛そば　くさきり、￥１０００。
Kakiage-tendon. Not only kakiage, but also two prawn tempura. The prawns are smaller than the more expensive “Tendon”, but tasty enough.
Soba made with yomogi(limited period).

Not only soba, udon is good too. Tsuyu(soup) is delicious. Nothing I ordered was disappointing but yosenabe and okame-toji stand out the most. Portion is not big, so I always order L portion, which is an extra 100yen(the price quoted above are all for regular portion). The staff are very friendly but they don’t keep very good track of who ordered what. I always order L size but they never remember that – I have to remind them to charge me 100yen more each time. ^^;;

Look at the queue during New Year holiday…normally it is crowded and you may have to wait a bit and share a table during busy lunch hour, but I’ve never seen a queue like this outside a soba place…
Menu(J): 1, 2.
神田まつや
Add: 1-13, Sudacho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-1556

茶房はん亭 (Sabou Hantei)

Posted on January 22, 08 by seat

Hantei is a famous high-class kushiage(deep-fried food on skewers) restaurant. I’ve only been there for dinner once years ago and the old Japanese wooden building was very impressive; the food was delicious but also expensive(at least 10,000yen per person). This casual Japanese cafe “Sabou Hantei” is right next door and serves simple and cheap Japanese meals and desserts.

焼き茄子と豚しゃぶのとろろポン酢、￥１２００。
Grilled aubergine and pork shabu in tororo(grated yam) ponzu. Lunch set on weekdays includes either a coffee(with whipped cream) or a small “mamekan” – beans and kanten with “black honey”.

鰻冊めし、￥１３００。
Uzaku meshi – Nagoya style unagi rice. For the first bowl, you have unagi and rice on its own, then you add the veggy pickles on the second bowl, and for the last you pour hot tea to make ochatsuke.

秋刀魚の香り揚げ、彩りおろし、￥１１００。
クリーム芋あんあんみつ、￥７００。
Fried Sanma with grated radish and herb.
Anmitsu with ice-cream and sweet potato.

鮭と根菜いろいろ炊き合わせ、香り味噌添え、￥１２００。
Salmon and root vegetables takiawase with miso.

豚の竜田と温野菜の岩海苔ソース、￥１２００。
そばろ弁当、￥１１００。
Pork Tatsuta-age(marinated and deep-fried) with vegetables and seaweed sauce.
Soboro bento. Minced beef and egg are both sweet.

新・イタリー丼、￥１１００。
“Italy don”. Rice bowl with tomato, asparagus, onion, and lots of herbs.

Food here is absolutely delicious. Portion is generous. The staff are friendly. I always step out of this place full and satisfied. Though there are only a few options for lunch and they change only every few months. I basically tried everything on the summer, the autumn and the winter menu. My favourites are the pork Tatsuta-age, the unagi rice, and the Italy rice bowl. They serve Japanese sweets too but lunch set comes with dessert(during weekdays) so I’ve only tried the Animitsu which is good but I think specialised Japanese sweet shops are better, like this one nearby.
Menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4.

茶房はん亭
Add: 2-12-15 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3827-5317

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